Lost, But Never Forgotten
by hollywood-135
Summary: Zuko is reunited with an old friend that dissapeared when they were young. She brings back a lot of memories, good and bad, and helps him realize that all he needs is right in front of him. KataraXZuko SokkaXoc. Set after "The Day of Black Sun"
1. Chapter 1: Taken

**A/N: So here's the first chapter, rewritten a little bit. Just added some detail to amp up the shortness. **

**Still short though. **

**They get longer! :D Enjoy "Lost, but Never Forgotten"**

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 1: Taken**

Azula stood tall and proud as she walked onto the unfamiliar ship.

The Southern Raiders had been reluctant to give up their highest ranked crew member, but Azula did have a way of persuading even the toughest minds. And besides, she wasn't going to give up the chance to reunite with one of her old childhood 'friends'. So she decided to visit the ship and take the girl away personally.

The Fire Nation princess strode purposefully down the ramp connecting her ship to the other, guards surrounding her on either side, poised and ready to fight should the need arise. She felt the soldiers' gazes, as well as those of the ship crew, on her wherever she went. No one dared to look her straight in the eyes. The fear of others made her feel powerful and strong. Not that she needed their fear to feel that way, oh definitely not. She smirked.

The teen walked through the hallways of the ship, searching for the one door she needed. Finally coming upon it, she waited only for a breath, and roughly pushed it aside. She looked in at the helpless girl that stood before her and couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny… Azula?" The girl hesitated before saying the princess's name.

"These people must be weak if they called a scrawny thing like you their best Raider! Oh, and you're the captain of this particular ship aren't you?" Azula taunted the girl before her. It felt good to say these things to her. Never had this girl been deserving of anything more than scowls and hurtful words.

"Yep. And I guess I've gotten better over the years that I've been away, princess. Maybe I'm even better than you now." The girl replied, her fear rushing out the door as quickly as it came.

Azula's smirk faded slowly as a large grin appeared on the girl's features.

"What do you need me for anyways? You didn't care much for me, and I don't take you as a person who might have a sudden change of heart. So what is it?" The girl asked.

"I have something, or rather, _someone _I need to take care of. And _you_ are going to help me do it." Azula replied unhurriedly, with a scowl set firmly in place.

The girl scoffed loudly. "And what makes you think I'll help you? I have enough to do here…" She paused. "Although I suppose you're not going to give me a choice, and I don't feel like fighting." She tilted her head in thought. "I guess I could use a vacation."

"And what makes you think this will be a vacation?" Azula growled back. The princess was starting to get annoyed with this girl.

The girl just laughed. "Jeez, Princess. Calm down a bit will ya? Being a Raider is tougher than you think, you know. Give me some credit. I can handle anything you throw at me."

"Enough talk! Guards! Take this excuse of a girl aboard the ship and show her to her room before I decide to throw her overboard instead!" Azula responded, obviously frustrated.

"I do have a name you know...or are we not using names? Should I call you**…** 'Girl incapable of feelings or compassion'? Yes, I think that would fit just fine." The girl replied, grinning largely at the guards holding her arms. "Do you guys think that fits her well? Cuz I sure do."

"I advise you to close that mouth of yours," Azula said in a quiet, harsh tone. "Take her to the prison cells. She can spend the night there."

As the guards made to walk forward, the girl held up her hands as if to stop them. She shook her arms out of their loose grip harshly and turned on them.

"I can walk by myself thank you very much. I don't need your help." At their hesitance, she added, "I won't fight or run away or anything. The only thing I could do would be to jump overboard." She turned back to Azula, "Oh, and it's nice to see you again, _my princess._" The girl's voice dripped with sarcasm. She did an exaggerated bow and left the room, walking towards Azula's ship.

Azula watched the girl's back as she continued through the halls to her ship. She stopped along the way to say goodbye to some of her crewmates and even give a few of them hugs. Azula shuddered at the thought. The brat was older than she was, but she had less authority. Those snide comments were the limit of her retaliation, unless she wanted to be punished for treason or conspiracy, or something drastic as such.

'_Her attitude will vanish soon enough' _Azula thought as her sinister smirk reappeared on her face.

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**A/N: Okay, so that's the first chapter/prologue. Sorry if it's confusing at all, and you will learn the girl's name in the next chapter or two. Along with her background and such. Can't wait to hear what anyone thinks of it so far...! **

**Review?**


	2. Chapter 2: Remember

**A/N: For any of you just now joining us… I hope you enjoy this much better version of chapter two! Rewritten with a little flair. This one really needed it! It's amazing how much a person's writing can change in a year and a half. Ha-ha… **

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 2: Remember**

Zuko and Katara rode on Appa in the middle of the night, traveling through the sky at what one would call a break-neck pace. For Appa, anyway.

The Fire Nation prince had been asleep for an hour or so, peacefully resting on Appa's back. Katara sat on the bison's head, absently steering and staring into the water below them. All she could think about was her mother. What was she going to do once she found the man that had killed her? Would she kill him? Katara didn't know if her rage was strong enough to do that much.

She could remember the day it all happened as if it was yesterday. The raid of her village. The fear, the sadness, the fire, and the utter helplessness she had felt. It all flashed through her mind as they flew over the ocean.

"Katara. You should get some rest. You'll need it when you face him."

She hadn't even noticed that Zuko had awakened. She agreed, and switched places with the other teen, grateful for a chance to rest. A few hours later, she awoke and immediately spotted the ship located a few miles in front of them. Merely a dot on the horizon now, but visible.

"Is that them? The Southern Raiders? Finally?" She asked, already knowing the answer to her question.

Zuko nodded, and they began their short descent. They landed in the water, creating a distracting splash, before going underneath the ship. Surfacing on the other side, Katara sent a huge wave over the top of the deck and knocked some of the crew overboard before they had a chance to respond. She and Zuko jumped onto the ship, crashed through some doors, ran though the hallways, and kicked a few butts searching for the captain of the ship. At last, they came to the final door, a big and ominous thing, and burst it open. After a little firebending, Zuko had the supposed captain on the ground and ready to talk.

"Think back to your last Southern Water Tribe Raid," Zuko shouted at the man. "Don't tell me you don't remember her!"

The man looked up with a confused expression and stared at Katara. "I don't know what you're talking about." He ground out in frustration.

Katara sighed deeply. "It's not him."

Zuko glanced at her, back at the captain, and to Katara again before stating, "What do you mean it's not him?"

The captain spoke again before Katara could answer. "Our last visit to the Southern Water Tribe was about two months ago. We have to go back and look for waterbenders every so often now. "

"What happened? Was everything okay?" Katara practically screamed.

The captain grunted in acknowledgement. "Yes, Yes. Our captain back then never used any sort of violence with them. She seemed to connect to them somehow. She was interesting that girl…"

"Her? You had a female captain?" He asked the Raider, incredulous.

"She was the best darn captain we've ever had, even if she was only looking like your age. The Fire Nation Princess took her away, and she wouldn't say why." He frowned.

"What was the girl's name?" Zuko asked slowly, his gaze thoughtful.

"I ain't gonna tell you nothing like that, it's _confidential_. But I _could_ tell you what she looked like… if you let me go." Zuko did so immediately, shocking Katara. The captain grinned and stood. "One thing I could tell you is her eyes. One blue as the ocean, the other amber like yours and mine, only it was real shiny, quite like fire. And it had a certain sparkle to it, made it look pure white sometimes. Hair was as black as midnight, flowy and long. Bangs covered the blue eye."

Zuko's face looked shocked beyond belief. Katara whispered to him in lack of understanding. "Zuko…?"

"Where were they headed?" Zuko asked him, completely disregarding Katara's concern.

"Somewhere near Ember Island. I overheard one of the Princess's guards saying something about the Avatar."

Katara and Zuko looked at each other with shocked faces, the previous captain forgotten. Ember Island was where they were going to meet up with Aang, Sokka, and Toph. And now that Azula was headed their way, things couldn't be worse.

The two jumped up and ran all the way back to where Appa was floating on the water, waiting. Without any thought as to why the other crew members weren't attacking or showing signs of confusion, they flew onto Appa and sped away, hoping dearly that they got back in time t okeep the others safe.

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**A/N: Still short. Arg. **

**Review? **


	3. Chapter 3: Double

**A/N: Well. Here's the rewritten chapter three! Hope you're sticking around!  
(The chapters get longer I swear!)**

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 3: Double**

Raven had been sitting in the prison dank cell for hours. She was hungry. She was bored. She was getting tired. She finally decided to lie down on the ground and try for some sleep. The floor was hard and cold, but she had no other choice. Sleeping while standing up was not a good choice. Especially for someone who had a knack for clumsiness.

"Aaa-chooo!"

She sat up with a start. Out of habit, she immediately stood and got into a defensive position, ready to bend. She stood frozen for roughly two more minutes in tense silence until she realized that this noisemaker was obviously not going to make another noise on its own. Raven took a deep breath. "Who's there?" She asked hesitantly.

She thought she was all alone. Nobody had made a sound, or even attempted to introduce him or her self until now. She didn't think it was possible to sit still for _that_ long.

To her surprise, someone _did_ answer this time. "M-my name is Kiara." A girl's voice replied. The owner of said voice stepped out of the shadows and Raven was able to see her in the dim light. Kiara was in a separate cell, directly across from the one in which she was enclosed. Kiara was about the same age, maybe a little younger. She had bleach-white hair with bold red streaks, and two black bows that held her hair in pigtails. She wore a light blue and red shirt with no sleeves, and a long blue skirt that reached her shins. Her eyes were a really light blue, but they had a thin ring of reddish glow around them.

"I'm Raven. How long have you been here? And why?"

Kiara flinched at her sharp tone. "I'd say about two, three days or so. It's hard to tell when all you have through your window is water. I was just minding my own business when one of the princess's guards grabbed me. So here I am." She smiled timidly.

"You a bender?" Raven asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay…" Raven paused, expecting elaboration, but when she got none she continued. "What element?"

"Fire…" Kiara replied, trailing off. She spoke the next part in a whisper. "And air."

Raven heard it anyway. "So you're a double? Huh. I never thought I find another here!"

Doubles were people that could bend two elements instead of one. They were very rare, and mostly unknown; merely folk tales passed on through a family or village. They were tales of prosperity, power, and victory.

A double was only possible if the parents were each benders of a different element. Therefore, the child received one element from their father, and one from their mother. But even the conditions were met, it did not guarantee the birth of a double.

Less nervous at the thought of another one like her, Kiara seemed to open up. "What elements are you?" She asked excitedly. "No wait, let me guess. Fire and Water?"

"How did you know?"

"It's your eyes. They kind of show it. One amber-red like a fire-bender, one blue like a water-bender."

Before Raven could reply, someone blasted through the door at the end of the hall. Raven hurriedly shoved her bangs down to cover half of her face, but relaxed slightly at the sight of the princess.

"Okay ladies, we have reached our destination. Ember Island. I need you both to do a favor for me."

"And that favor would be?" Raven drawled lazily, showing no obvious respect of royalty.

Azula was not fazed. "I want you to help me capture the avatar and bring him back to my father at the palace."

Both girls showed their shock. "The… Avatar?" Raven mumbled to herself. "Why us?" She asked louder.

"Because of your bending ability," looking at Raven, "and your apparent skills with a sword," pointing to Kiara.

"And what will we get in return?" Kiara asked in a whisper. She was obviously afraid of the Princess.

"Yeah. Who says we're gonna do what you say, _little princess_?" Raven added, showing her completely opposite personality.

"If you do this for me, I won't kill you." Azula replied sickly-sweet.

"Fair enough." Kiara said in her small voice.

"Whatever you say." Raven said in a sarcastic, irritated tone.

Azula turned on her heel and walked out of the doors, calling over her shoulder, "The guards will let you out in a few minutes, so sit tight ladies!"

"I'd like to see you try…" Raven added under her breath so not even Kiara could hear her. "Try and kill me."

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**A/N: Still Short. Dang. Longer than it was though. Ha-ha. **

**Review? **


	4. Chapter 4: Late

**A/N: Rewrite for chapter four done! **

**This chapter was, and still is, dedicated to **_Wolf-Girl-Narnia-Girl_**! My first reviewer for this story! Thanks again!**

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter Four: Late**

Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Momo were currently walking through the forest heading to Ember Island. The mood in the traveling party was tense and silent. Aang was practically pacing on back and forth, Sokka was staring off into space, meandering along, and Toph was steaming in anger. They were supposed to meet Katara and Zuko at the island in about two hours and they were still too far away to make it in time.

They were running late.

"Ugh. We are SO not gonna make it to Ember Island in time to meet Katara and Zuko!" Aang said to nobody in particular. Sokka continued staring off into space, unaffected by the Avatar's sudden outburst.

"Well if someone wasn't so hungry all the time, we could have left earlier. But NO! Sokka here had to go and get himself lost in the woods looking for food that we had already packed away. God you can be so stupid sometimes, Sokka!" Toph shouted.

Sokka finally looked up at both of them. He gave a short laugh. The look in his eye was glazed over, probably daydreaming about said food.

"Oh great. He's probably brain dead and delusional now from lack of food." Toph stated.

"Well if you hadn't walked us through this dark, creepy forest instead of going around it then we probably wouldn't have run into those Fire Nation soldiers! And then we wouldn't have lost the food!" Aang angrily yelled back at Toph.

Earlier in the day, the group had stopped in a big, bright clearing they had spotted. The group then proceeded to walk for hours through the forest, as Toph had decided it would be easier to go through it than avoid it. Her reasoning was that this way they would be more hidden in case of an ambush.

They stopped again once they hit another semi-large clearing. Aang had fallen asleep, grateful for the rest, and Toph had decided to stay up and keep watch. About twenty minutes later, Toph had felt the presence of a few Fire Nation soldiers creeping up on them from behind. The Earthbender girl had bolted upright and started to fight them, screaming at Aang to wake his lazy butt up and help her. Sokka had busied himself with getting the packs together. In the midst of the attack and getaway, the food, unfortunately, had been left behind.

"Well _**hello**_ Twinkle-toes. At least I warned us before they actually got to us! We could have been killed! You and Sokka here were out like logs, so you owe your lives to me, thank you very much!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Aang replied, frustrated. "Sokka almost looks like he drank more cactus juice or something!" He mused quietly to himself. Or so he thought. Sokka apparently had heard him.

"Ooooo….cactus yum yum…. *gurgles*"

"SHUT UP, SOKKA!" Toph and Aang yelled in unison.

The group was cast into yet another tense silence for a few minutes as Aang and Toph moped and brooded. They had gotten on each other's nerves so much these past few days. It seemed that they couldn't even function without Katara here to keep them in line. That just made them angrier, but with themselves. They were strong. They didn't need Katara to be there all the time like a mother or something.

Aang yawned loudly, breaking the silence at last.

Toph bristled. "So Aang, you need to sleep again? Maybe I'll let some Fire nation soldiers capture Sokka this time and do us all a favor. Or maybe I'll just leave him behind. Maybe then he'll find some food!" Toph stared menacingly at Aang.

"Uh… that's okay. We're almost there I guess." He replied nervously, not wanting to be pushed even more onto Toph's bad side today. He knew very well that he was wrong about the distance as well. They were nowhere near 'almost there'. "I'll try to last until we get there. I'll just take a nap when we get to the Island."

"Whatever, Twinkletoes." Toph replied as she fell silent.

_'I just hope Katara doesn't worry about us too much when she sees we aren't there on time…'_ Aang thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N: Short. But longer than it was. Success! (I had to write it **_**again**_** after realizing that I had put Appa in here as well, even though he's supposed to be with Katara and Zuko. Oops. Surprised nobody else caught that, actually :O).The next chapter will be returning to Zuko and Katara... And I hope you'll stick around to read it! **

**Reviews? Please? Thanks! :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Worry

**A/N: Chapter 5 done! Woo-Hoo! This is where chapters start to get longer :) **

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 5: Worry**

"I can't believe it! We're too late! They got here before us and kidnapped Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Momo! They wouldn't have _killed_ them would they? We have to take Appa and go back! We have to save them!" Katara rambled hopelessly, face creased with worry.

Her and Zuko had just made it to Ember Island, and were about two minutes late. First things first, they had 'borrowed' some clothes for disguises from some unsuspecting family's laundry. Then, after looking through the entire village and outskirts of the Island, they had seen that Aang and the others were absolutely nowhere to be found. Katara immediately feared the worst.

"Calm down Katara. Maybe they're running late. You know your brother probably had to stop and eat or something. Besides, Azula's ship wasn't anywhere near the harbor." Zuko replied, trying to ease Katara's uncontrollable trembling. She looked so helpless and lost like this. Filled with worry, sadness, and fear. Zuko didn't like seeing her like this. Sometimes she took out her worry and fear in the form of rage, and he didn't want to be anywhere near her if that happened.

But what irked him the most was that part of him didn't believe what he had just said. He couldn't be sure he spoke the truth. Maybe Azula had already come and gone? '_No. No way has that happened. Pull yourself together Zuko. Help Katara. She looks like she's gonna have an anxiety attack or something.'_

"Come on Katara, let's go walk around. Maybe they're in the village shops or something, and we just missed them." Zuko offered. He was trying his hardest to sound optimistic.

Katara softly nodded her head and they turned in the direction of the village square.

That's when it hit.

**"CRACK!"**

The large noise made everyone within miles turn to try and find the source of the noise. Katara and Zuko, though, only had to look straight in front of them. A large ball of fire had landed only fifteen steps away.

Katara and Zuko hastily jumped away, prepared to fight. They landed on the roof of a very low, small building nearby.

"Did someone recognize us? Is Azula still here or something?" Katara asked hurriedly.

"I don't think anyone recognized us, because they aren't attacking anymore." Zuko replied, lowering his arms from the fighting stance he had taken up and sighing.

"Hey! You up there! What are you doing up on my roof? Get off, you hooligans!" An old man had walked out of his shop below them. Zuko and Katara jumped off and stood in front of the man, albeit a bit sheepish.

"Sir," Zuko started to ask, "Do you know why that fireball was fired?"

"But of course! It happens very often actually. There's a small prison on the other side of the island, and it's not very good with security. They have a lot of fights and riots, and sometimes a stray fireball or something will make it way over here. It's no big deal, really. If you've lived here long enough, you get used to it. Have you been here long, young man?" The old man asked Zuko in return.

"No. I just arrived on vacation here with my..." Zuko stole a glance at Katara, who was standing next to him. "…girlfriend." Zuko answered nervously after a long pause. He gave a sheepish smile to Katara, who in turn glared at him.

Right at that moment a big, tall, stocky man appeared from around a street corner. He took a quick look around and spotted the three talking. He walked up to them and stopped, so close he was practically leaning over Katara's head.

Zuko and Katara spotted him and paled. Zuko whipped his head around so he faced away from the man.

He was a Fire Nation guard.

Katara glanced at Zuko, who was trying to hide his face from the guard. Anyone from the Fire Nation would be able to recognize his face without a second glance. Especially one of Azula's guards. Katara immediately noticed the danger they were in. If the guard recognized either of them, he would inform Azula. And if Azula knew they were here, a battle would break out. Azula would know for sure that Aang was near, if she didn't already have him locked away on her ship. So far, the two of them were lucky.

"The Princess should be arriving soon." The guard said with a scowl. "I suggest you peasants get out of the streets." He spit out the word peasants like the word disgusted him.

Katara paled. _'Azula is here! But she's just now arriving. That means that she hasn't found Aang and the others! Thank god... But then why are they so late?'_

She nodded slowly and turned back the way they had come. The old man literally ran into his house out of sheer fright. She linked arms with Zuko and dragged him away.

Once they turned the corner, Zuko and Katara broke into a run. They had to find Aang and the others before Azula arrived. That way they could hide Aang and prepare for a fight if it came to the worst.

"Is he following us?" Zuko whispered.

Katara looked behind them. "The guard? No, he stayed." Katara replied.

Zuko let out a breath he hadn't even noticed he was holding. _'What if she finds us? What if we have to fight her and her guards? What happens if Aang doesn't get here in time and it's just Katara and I?'_ Zuko thoughts were spinning out of control. _'So many what ifs... I need to calm down. ...but what if one of us gets hurt? Or captured?'_

Katara watched Zuko's face in silence. He seemed to be deep in thought. She saw so many emotions cross his features, and she felt the same way. _'I wonder what he's thinking...'_ A small flicker of fear and sadness shone in his eyes, and at that moment, Katara knew exactly what had caused it. As if reading his thoughts, she spoke.

"We can't face her alone can we?"

Zuko started. Her sudden question had caught him off guard, as he had been drowning deep in his thoughts. "If it was just her, we'd have an alright chance. But she has guards with her, and we _don't_ stand a chance against them all." He replied sadly.

Katara delved back into her own thoughts_. 'That girl Azula apparently took from the Southern Raiders...I wonder...would she be a problem? Is she strong? Or is she on our side? Maybe Azula took her as a prisoner because she was a rebel, disobeying the rules, like Zuko. I want to ask him...but what if it's a sensitive topic? I know he doesn't like to talk about his family as much...is this girl a part of his dark past?'_

It was silent for a few moments as Katara pondered whether or not to ask. In the end she decided, _'You'll never know if you don't try!'_

"Who was the girl Azula took from the Southern Raiders? When you asked the captain you seemed to know her." Katara asked hesitantly.

Zuko was silent, a pained look coming across his face. His eyes looked to the ground at his feet, and his walking pace slowed down visibly. He seemed to be retreating deeper into his mind.

_'Oh no! I didn't mean too... darn... now he's gone silent. I hope he isn't mad...'_ She looked up at him. _'His eyes...he doesn't look angry... he looks...sad.'_

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Katara, Zuko spoke. "An old friend…or enemy. I'm not sure which anymore. I haven't seen her in _years_." Zuko explained with a frown.

_'Hmm... must be a topic he doesn't like talking about...maybe later I'll get it out of him... if we don't meet her later, that is.' _Katara thought.

They walked the rest of the way back to their meeting spot in mutual silence.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! A longer chapter…My longest so far anyways. Not much changed in rewrite. :)**

**Review? **


	6. Chapter 6: Arrivals

**Disclaimer: Is Avatar still showing new episodes? No? I don't own it, then.  
A/N: Going back over this, it's amazing how many little things I missed. Things I should have added. Huh….Enjoy! ^-^**

_'Thoughts'  
_"Talking"

**Rewrite: 7-5-10**

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 6: Arrivals**

"Why aren't they here? And I thought we were late. Jeez." Toph mumbled to herself when they finally arrived at the meeting place on Ember Island.

"Do you think they're alright? I hope they didn't get captured by the Southern raiders! And what about Appa?" Aang shouted worriedly.

"Don't worry Twinkletoes. I'm sure Hothead and your little '_girlfriend' _are just fine." Toph muttered angrily. She didn't really enjoy how Aang was so mushy when it came to Katara. She thought it was pathetic. Then again, she never really cared for the Sugar Queen anyway. She wasn't…_jealous_…was she? _'No. Of course I'm not jealous. What is there to be jealous about anyways? Why would I care that Aang is totally in _love_ with Katara. I wouldn't. I don't care. At all. Humph.'_

"F-f-foooooooooooooodddd." Sokka mumbled, tearing Toph away from her inner monologue. The boy was foaming at the mouth and gurgling like crazy. His eyes were crossed and his head was circling around.

"Come on." Toph spoke to the others. "Let's go into town and get mister mental over here some food before he starts hallucinating again." She pointed to Sokka, obviously disgusted with the boy's current messy state.

The three of them walked towards the town, Sokka being dragged along behind them. As the group turned around a corner...

"Aang! Toph! Sokka! Oh, thank god you're all okay!" Katara shouted relieved.

"Katara! Zuko! There you are!" Aang replied happily. He immediately ran up and hugged Katara, grin eating up his entire face.

"Where were you guys? We thought the Southern Raiders captured you or something." Toph asked in a sour tone. Half of her wished that her statement was actually true.

The shocked look Katara gave her was worth the tone of voice she used. Aang ruined her feeling.

"Don't be silly, Toph! Katara would never be captured by those people! She's too strong." Aang replied.

Toph stood there dumbfounded. '_Wow._ _He was the one that wondered that in the first place! What the heck is wrong with this kid? Jeez.'_

"We'll talk later, but we need to go _now_. Azula will be here any minute and we need to hide Aang." Zuko told everyone.

"Azula?" Toph began. "What is she doing he—"

"FOOD!" Sokka interrupted Aang. He had spotted a cabbage cart in the middle of the street and was now running towards it. Very quickly.

"Sokka! No! Get back here! We have to go!" Katara helplessly rushed after him.

"You two go back, I'll get Katara and Sokka." Zuko ran to follow Katara and help her with Sokka. Aang and Toph ran back the other way towards the house where they would supposedly be staying.

"_**My cabbages**_!"

As Zuko and Katara were wrestling with Sokka, and the vendor looked like he was about to cry over his cabbages, they heard it. A single scream that pierced the air and made the whole village go silent for a moment, freezing all four in their actions. A large fire burst out on one of the shops close by to where they were standing.

Suddenly, Sokka grabbed as many cabbages as he could hold onto and ran farther down the street screaming at the top of his lungs. He managed to run pretty far before Katara and Zuko noticed. They had been trying to figure out exactly what had happened. _'Is Azula already here? No!'_ Zuko and Katara had similar thoughts.

"Mine! Mine! _**All **_mine! Not yours! _You_ can't have _**any**_! Mwahaha!"

"Sokka! Stop running! Please, we need to go!" Katara yelled after him.

Katara and Zuko ran after him for a few minutes and stopped. Defeated. They were too tired to run anymore.

"How much time do you think we have Zuko? I mean, he won't get himself captured will he? Would your sister recognize him?" Katara worriedly asked.

Zuko opened his mouth to reply, but the sound he heard was not his voice.

"Watch out, behind you!" It was a different vendor, a stranger, yelling at the two of them. He pointed behind them with a look of pure terror on his face.

Katara and Zuko spun around in time to see a blazing ball of flame coming towards them, directly in line to hit Katara. Zuko managed to put himself in the way and block the attack just in time. But he only succeeded in deflecting it into one of the buildings nearby, effectively burning it to smithereens.

The impact sent a blast of smoke in their direction and blocked their view. Neither Zuko nor Katara could see anything. The waterbender took a deep breath to steady herself and calm her nerves, but accidentally inhaled the smoke. She felt it go down her throat, making her cough violently.

When Katara got over her coughing fit, she sat tense and ready to bend with Zuko in case they were attacked. But for a few moments, the only things they could see and hear were smoke and silence. It was a tense, hesitant silence for the both of them.

They were partially confused. Wouldn't the smoke have been a perfect way to catch the two off guard and surprise them with an attack? Why didn't their opponent take the opportunity?

When the smoke finally cleared, they finally had a view of their attackers. Zuko let out a quiet gasp that only Katara heard.

When she looked the way Zuko was looking, she saw the image of a teenage girl, about Zuko's age. She had long, pitch black hair that flowed around her shoulders and down her back. Her bangs hung down and framed her face, some of them covering one of her eyes. The one visible eye, not covered by her bangs, was a fierce amber red color. It was dark and shiny- resembling fire in the same way that other firebender's did.. But what really made it different from a normal Fire-bender's was the hint of white sparkle Katara could see reflected in it when the angle was just so. The girl was standing straight up and down, hands by her sides. She was wearing a dark red shirt that stopped right above her belly button, and a long red skirt. Both were outlined in black. Her necklace and shoes were both a dark blue color.

She was obviously from the Fire Nation. But Katara had never seen her before.

_'Pretty,' _Katara mused. _'Is she the one that threw that fire? Why didn't she attack us while we were in the smoke? Is she even _with_ Azula?'_

The girl instantly locked eyes with Zuko, not even giving Katara a glance. The look on her face portrayed her vivid shock.

Katara stole a glance at Zuko and saw that his facial expression was no different. But she saw that his eyes held a bit of sadness, '_and… is that… betrayal?'_

* * *

**Alright! So that's chapter 6. Wow. Long…ish! Yay! I'm getting better! Lol… **

**Review?**


	7. Chapter 7: Flash

**A/N: This chapter is really short. Really. So sorry about that. There's not much I can add here. :) 420 words on MSWord. Wow. That's got to be a record on the short chapter, there. **

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 7: Flash**

They were caught in a stare. Frozen in place.

His piercing amber eyes locking her in a hesitant, yet menacing gaze. Her shiny amber eye looking at him with a gaze that seemed to pierce through him like lightning. They recognized each other at once. A small smile appearing on each of their faces.

"Zuko."

"Raven."

The two names were spoken in a tone that sounded as if a lost rivalry had just found its way back into the world. Pain, strength, defeat, power, agony, happiness, sadness. So many emotions poured out into two simple words.

Katara jumped. All at once, as if someone had just given a signal to start, fire collided with fire. A fire as red as the sun, and a deep, dark, bluish fire.

Katara was astonished at the ferocity of which Zuko was fighting. Even though he seemed hesitant in his attacks, as if he didn't want to hurt the girl, he was still fighting stronger than Katara could remember seeing him fight in the past. Yet his sad smile never left. He seemed relieved when he missed or when the girl deflected his attacks. Katara was confused.

Likewise, the girl he was fighting seemed confused, maybe even shocked at the sight of Zuko. Yet she smiled a genuine smile, and it never faltered.

Raven's firebending was like nothing Katara had ever seen. While Zuko's movements were stiff and unrelenting like a normal fire-bender's, Raven's seemed so fluent, graceful, and easy. It reminded Katara of Water-bending.

"You've definitely improved Zuko!" Raven shouted to him. A ferocious, almost playful smirk overtook her face.

"Yeah, well I suppose I'd be able to beat you if we were equally gifted…" Zuko retorted in an equally playful tone.

The girl laughed, and Katara gasped. _'That girl exactly fits the description from that Southern Raider! I wonder if, behind those bangs, there's a solid blue eye. Like one of mine?'_

Zuko stole a worried glance at Katara, hearing her gasp. "What is it Katara?"

"Is that the girl? The one the Southern Raiders told you about?" She asked.

Zuko didn't hesitate to nod in affirmation. He immediately turned his attention back to Raven.

But instead seeing his old friend, he was met with the sight of a bolt of lightning coming straight towards him. He has no time to react whatsoever.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from it. The last thing he heard was a shocked voice, and he couldn't tell whom it was from. Raven? Or Katara?

"ZUKO!"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffy! :D And how maddeningly short it is… It appears I was bedridden with the flu when writing this the first time. Haha… **

**Review? **


	8. Chapter 8: Catch Me If You Can

**A/N: This was the fastest chapter update ever. I traveled to Spokane and I was in the car for 5 hours with nothing to do but write and listen to my IPod!  
Enjoy! **

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 8: Catch Me If You Can**

Time seemed to stop.

To Zuko, everything went in slow motion. As the lightning came straight for him, he felt as though he had all the time in the world. Yet, he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried.

_Come on, move you stupid legs! Move!_ His mind screamed at his muscles, but they wouldn't respond. He was frozen. Now he understood what people meant when they said your life flashes before your eyes at the moment before death. You could think of anything you wanted to in your past. The good, the bad. Mistakes and accomplishments. His family, his friends.

_A friend. That's what she was. But what is this? Is she killing me? But, during that fight. It felt like we were just playing around again. It felt just like old times. Those days when we were inseparable. We were troublemakers._ He wanted to smile at all the thoughts and memories that flashed though his mind. But even his mouth wouldn't move like he wanted it to.

He stole a glance at Raven, surprised for a minute that his eyes moved like he wanted them to. He saw the look on her face. She was wearing a smirk that could rival his sister's. _So she's going to kill me after all._ Zuko thought. _Then I guess she's an enemy. But that look she gave me, that smile, and that laugh. It sounded just like it used to sound._

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

*****_**Flashback**_*****

"Catch me if you can! Ha-ha! I'm faster than you! You'll never catch me!" The sound of a little girl's voice rang throughout the Fire Nation palace.

"No fair! You got a head start. I'm way faster than you!" A boy's voice joined the first.

"Then prove it."

Footsteps stopped as the girl came to a standstill. She stood waiting for the boy to catch up. Finally, he turned the corner and his footsteps died out as well. The two stood side by side, one panting trying to catch his breath.

The girl was a bit shorter than the other. She had black hair and bright amber eyes. Everyone always told her they sparkled like the sun on a summer day. She hated compliments like that, ones that made her feel all girly. She was wearing a dress; a deep, dark red color with a hint of bluish sparkle.

The boy also had black hair and amber eyes, only his eyes were much darker. He was wearing Fire Nation robes, ones of royalty.

"Come on! I'll race ya to the beach! 1-2-GO!" The girl shouted and ran off out the palace doors.

"Raven! Wait! No, come back! You know I can't!" The boy stood still on the ground, staring at the doors the girl had just run through. He took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "Jeez... Why do I even have to go to this stupid party thing anyways? I'm five years old for gosh sakes. Humph." He pouted as young children often do, frustrated.

"ZUKO!" The boy's mother's voice rang throughout the palace walls, echoing so much that everyone paused in their work. The servants and guards all froze and thanked the lord that the woman wasn't calling for them. The Fire Lord's wife could be a little scary sometimes. "Where are you my son? Come here! We need to get you ready for the party tonight. _Now_!"

"Jeez, mom…. It's run away to the beach with Raven, or stay here and get all prim and proper for this party thing with mom." He paused to think for a moment. "Ok. That's an easy one." Zuko whispered to himself.

He quickly rushed out of the palace doors, away from his mom, heading for the beach his friend had gone to. No sooner had he turned the first corner then something tackled him to the ground.

"_**Ah**_!" Zuko yelled out. As he struggled to stand, and push the thing, which he know registered as Raven, off of him, he heard laughing. She was laughing at him!

"Oh man…Zuko…you shoulda seen…your face! Priceless!" She said after standing. She had to pause in between words to laugh. She made a mock scared face at him, and a very dramatic one at that.

"Jeez. I didn't look that bad …did I?" He asked, now a little unsure. She was still laughing.

"Ha-ha… close to it I'm sure." And she smiled that dazzling smile, the infectious one that made everyone that saw it want to smile too. And it did just that.

Zuko smiled back. "Well what did you expect? You scared me. Now I'll race you the rest of the way! 1-2-GO!"

*****_**end Flashback**_*****

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

_That smile. I just want to see that smile again._

He looked at Katara from the corner of his eye; still frozen in place, he couldn't even move his head.

_Run Katara. Please just run. You can't beat her if she turns against you. She has talents that can take out any firebender or waterbender. Find Aang. Find Toph. Even Sokka can help. You'll need them._

She had a surprised and scared look on her face. Scared for Zuko, maybe? He doubted it. He had been sort of a jerk lately.

He looked forwards again. The lightening was closer. So much closer. He wouldn't even have to reach out to touch it now, just lean his head forwards. Closer, Closer, Closer. Now that he was thinking about it, it seemed to be moving faster.

Inch by inch, now centimeter by centimeter. Closer.

Time that had seemed to go minute by minute, now only seconds ticked by. Closer.

He always thought he would die in some honorable or heroic way. Perhaps after winning a big fight. Or at least fighting on Aang's side. Maybe protecting someone, someone he loved.

But who did he love? His mother? Yes, but she was gone who knows where. His father? Azula? You love your family unconditionally, right? Sure… Katara? Uh…well…perhaps in due time, if he got any more time that is.

But he never thought he would die like this. And because of her? Unthinkable.

In the past, after he lost her, his eight year old self had never gotten over it. It hurts too much to lose your only real friend. He tried forgetting, and it helped, until he found reminders. Every party in the palace eventually had him sitting in his room, wishing Raven was there to run away with him again, to help him escape it all. He soon stopped visiting the beach where they used to run all day long.

He wanted to run now. So far, away from here, away from death and everything that had hurt him in the past. But he couldn't run like he used to, with her. There was no chance.

You can't cheat death.

He had always wished he could see her again. But not like this. Not with her about to kill him.

This was it. The lightning was a centimeter away from his face. 9 millimeters. 8, 7, 6…

5

4

3

2

1…

* * *

**A/N: HAHA! Another cliffy! MWAHAHA! *ahem* anyways, I know it didn't progress much but I needed a chance to at least put a little background in there… there will be more about Raven's past later on though. Such as how Zuko 'lost' her and stuff….but for now. **

**Review? **


	9. Chapter 9: Saved

**A/N: Hey there! Woo-Hoo! Another fast update.**

**Enjoy! **

**Rewrite: 7-5-10: I had started to put Recaps in because of my late updating skills, but now that the entire story is out, I'm going to get rid of them. :)**

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 9: Saved**

3… _Raven._ Zuko thought.

2… _Wait, where did she go?_ He had cast a final glance in her direction. But she was nowhere to be found.

1… _No matter, I'm dead now._

Zuko closed his eyes, and tilted his head down. _Wait a sec, since when can I move?_ Maybe the gods of death were generous enough to let you look away form your death. He figured impending doom was not something enjoyable to look at.

0…

He waited for it, he expected it, but it didn't come. He heard it hit, but he didn't feel it. All he felt was the ground on his back. Wait, his back? Wasn't he standing? He opened his eyes and looked, but the lightning had disappeared. The only evidence of its existence was the sparks of blue light coming out of Raven's hand.

Raven. The girl who just so happened to be standing where he was a moment ago. Her arms outstretched in a bending stance. She was breathing heavily, as if she had just run a long distance.

Zuko was speechless. _What the _hell_ just happened?_ His thoughts screamed. His shock was too great for his vocal chords to work properly.

Thankfully, Raven's voice practically voiced his thoughts. "What the _hell_ Azula? I thought you said you were going after the girl. Kill the girl, you said. Not Zuko!" Raven seemed angry, and a bit confused as well.

Azula was standing off to the side of the street, previously unseen by both Katara and Zuko. "He's just going to get in the way. I may as well get little Zuzu out of the way so we don't have to deal with him later. He'd just be a pain." The princess retorted, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now move, and don't even think of interfering this time." Azula shouted her order at Raven.

_So Raven saved me. She didn't shoot the lightening; she deflected it and stopped it from hitting me! Looks like I owe her my life. Great. _

"Jeez, Princess. He's your brother! Well, who am I kidding. You don't care. Although I'm sure Zuzu…" Raven looked mockingly back at Zuko, a slight smile. "…would be glad to step aside and let us take the Avatar. Because I won't let you kill him for no good reason Azula."

Everyone's eyes were now on Zuko, waiting for his decision. Katara's were the most piercing. But Zuko himself still felt frozen, his vocal chords especially. Apparently looking death in the face was a real nerve breaker.

The best he could do was to look at Katara and give a barely perceptible shake of the head. That was all she needed to answer for him.

"No way. Zuko is on our side, the side of the Avatar, the side that will triumph over the Fire Lord. And we will never let you have Aang." Her voice was shaky in the silence.

Azula replied to her first. Her infamous smirk set in place yet again and her eyes shining with mischief.

"Oh? Are you so sure about that little girl?"

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

"I wonder what's taking them so long to get Sokka." Aang voiced his thoughts as he and Toph sat leaning against Appa.

"I don't know. We've been here for at least a half hour just waiting for them to show up. You think they ran into Azula?"

"I sure hope not… I hope Katara's okay…" The last part was a whisper, more to himself than Toph. But Toph's experienced ears heard it loud and clear.

_Oi. This kid worries too much about Sugar Queen. I swear he's like in love with her or something. Paaaathetic._ Toph thought to herself, dragging out the last word in boredom and exasperation.

"Well I don't know what they would be doing in the village; I thought they were getting more food or something. But _I_ for sure don't need to be _got_." Spoke a voice from behind them.

"_**Sokka?**_" Both Toph and Aang screeched. He was the one who had spoken, and he was sitting behind them. "What are you doing? How long have you been sitting here?"

"Eating…Cabbages—

***Smack***

"_**Ouch**_! Now that one hurt, really bad Toph!" Sokka yelled.

Toph hadn't even let him finish. "We don't have time for your hunger stories, you idiot!" She told the boy, who was still rubbing the back of his head in pain. A good smack in the head was Sokka's usual punishment when he was being stupid. And that was very frequently. Toph was always glad to be sure he received his punishment every time. "Something obviously must be wrong. It wouldn't be like them to keep us waiting this long for anything. Aang, shall we go?"

"Yeah. Come on Sokka! _No_! You can't bring a cabbage, now come on! Your food will be here when we get back."

"Alright, alright. I'm coming. Sheesh." Sokka mumbled and shuffled along a distance behind the other two.

After a few minutes, they were almost to the village. _Maybe that cabbage guy is still here. Mmm…Cabbage! _Sokka was literally drooling at the thought of more food.

"Keep on your guard guys. We have no idea who we could meet here. Or how many for that matter." Aang directed his group.

"Right."

"Uh-huh. Sure, whatever." Sokka had barely registered the fact that Aang had spoken at all. His mind was clouded over with thoughts. 'Thoughts of what?' You ask. Come on, it's Sokka we're talking about here. Thoughts of food, of course! And in result, Aang's advice had passed in through one ear, out the other.

_What else could be here? A Fire Nation town… hmm… restaurants and food stands galore in this village!_

Toph abruptly stopped, halting the other two as well. "Hold it," She spoke. "There are only three of us. That means... Sokka! _Behind you_!"

"Huh? What?" His eyes widened as Toph's words finally registered in his brain. He tried to spin around to face the intruder, but the other was too fast. Sokka felt a long, silver sword at the base of his throat and immediately halted his movements.

"My, my. Aren't you a cutie?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry... I love writing cliffhangers! It's so much fun! (Although it's not much of a cliffhanger anymore now that you just have to hit the 'next chapter' button.) Haha… :O**

**Review?**


	10. Chapter 10: Beaten By A Girl

**A/N: Wow. Longest chapter so far. **

**Rewrite: 7-5-10: Changed just a tad. A few minor things. Nothing important. Just adding some more Sokka and some more detail. Woo. Detail. ^-^**

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 10: Beaten By A Girl**

_A girl. Great. Captured by a girl. What a blow to my ego. Sheesh._

The metal of the sword was cold on Sokka's throat. He flinched as the blade was pushed a little harder against him.

"Let him go." Aang shouted at Sokka's captor.

"And what are you gonna do if she doesn't, pipsqueak?" A familiar, slightly depressed sounding voice called out from behind him. Aang spun around to face it and saw that there were in fact two others behind them.

"Mai, Ty-Lee. So Azula is here then." He addressed the girls. He then turned to Toph. "That must be why Katara and Zuko didn't come back like they should have. They must have had a run-in with her."

"Hang tight Sokka. Let us get rid of these guys first." Toph yelled.

_Oh sure, leave me at the mercy of this girl. The one who has a sword to my throat. A perfectly sharpened, shiny sword! At my throat. Thanks a bunch. Did I mention there was a sword at my throat? _While Sokka's conscious was busy screaming at Aang and Toph, the two had begun a fight with Ty-lee and Mai.

Ty-Lee was busy dodging Toph's pillars of earth shooting up out of the ground, and the many rocks being hurtled her way. While simultaneously trying to get closer to her.

Aang was deflecting the knives from Mai, as well as trying to initiate his own offense in return.

Sokka felt helpless and useless. He couldn't move at all without a sword impaling his throat. What was this girl doing? Just standing here? Someone else seemed to notice this as well.

"Are you going to do something or just stand there?" Mai turned to look in Sokka's direction as she spoke. He supposed she was talking to his captor. "The kid's of no use. Just kill him then. Go on."

"Kill him? But what's he done to me? Plus, he's pretty cute…" The girl's, his captor's, voice began. "Can't we just… take him prisoner or something?"

"What would be the point? He's not a bender, and he wouldn't help us. He's useless. If you're so opposed to violence, why did Azula even think you would be of help to us?" Mai's voice drawled in her monotone speech.

"Uh!" His captor sounded offended, huffing in indignation. "Violence is unnecessary and crude. It should only be used in self-defense, not to intentionally hurt someone that's done nothing wrong."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. _This girl is a lunatic. No violence... Pshhh. Mai is right, why is she even helping the Fire Nation? Well, if she doesn't use violence, then I should be able to escape without her hurting me. Eh? Worth a try…_

Sokka quickly raised his hands up to the sword, grabbed, and pulled. He pulled it away from his throat and ran a few steps forward. He then turned around to face the girl, his own sword in hand and ready to fight.

The girl had been caught off guard, and was now trying to regain her balance. She had a shocked look on her face.

_She doesn't look like a fire-bender… _Sokka thought. _Maybe that's why she has a sword. Maybe she isn't a bender…like me! Now I can show her how a real man fights with a sword!_

As the girl straightened up, Sokka could more easily make out her features. She had bleached white hair, with bright red streaks all throughout. It was up in pigtails tied with black bows. Her eyes were a bright blue, not as dark as Katara's and Sokka's own, but colored more like the sky. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt and a long skirt that stopped halfway down her shin. Both were a mixture of blue and red.

She finally stood tall and glared at Sokka. He charged at her with his sword held high. Her eyes widened with realization and to Sokka, she looked scared. As he came close, his swung his sword down and waited for impact.

CLANG

The sound of metal on metal resounded through everyone's ears. Sokka was pushed back, landing with his back on the ground. His eyes shut at the impact. _Dang. I thought I had her for sure._ His sword had been knocked out of his hands. The girl was a lot stronger than he had assumed.

He cracked open an eye and looked up. His eye widened. He found himself looking up his own blade into the face of the girl, who was looking back down at him.

"You're too confident. Anyone could have easily killed you because of that bold, stupid move." She stated matter-of-factly.

Sokka cringed. It was one thing to be beaten by a girl, but to be told what you did wrong and be called stupid…well that was truly embarrassing. "Wait a second; I thought you didn't use violence?" He asked her.

"I said that unnecessary violence was wrong. You attacked me. I was merely using self-defense." She smiled down at him.

Sokka groaned and rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long day.

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

"I'm 100% sure Azula. You will never get Aang." Katara replied, sounding surer of herself this time.

"And he'll defeat my father and the world will become all happy, jolly again I'm sure." Azula cackled. "You wish girl…"

"It _will_ happen. What father's doing is wrong, Azula." Zuko stood, finally regaining his ability to speak. "This world will perish under his rule and you know it. You're just following him because you want the spot on the throne. You're too power hungry to really recognize what's happening here. By the time you get the throne Azula, there will be no land to rule."

He looked at Raven and she smiled back at him. Even though her eyes showed her extreme shock, that smile was the one he had been waiting for. He smiled back.

"Raven, why don't you worry about the little Water-bender over there?" Azula sneered at Zuko. "I can handle my brother just fine. Kiara and the others are finding the Avatar as we speak. They should be back soon enough. We need to be ready for them, which means eliminating these little problems in our way." Her sneer turned into a deep scowl, growling out the the last few words.

"Gotcha. Water-bender's dead meat." Raven said with a smirk. She jumped over to Katara so that she was right in front of her. Catching Katara off guard, she pushed her to the ground. "Wow. Your reflexes are pretty slow. This will be a piece of cake."

_What? Jeez, this girl is so confusing. _Zuko was having a war with his thoughts. _First, she fights me, then she saves me and gives me that smile again, and now she's obeying Azula's orders. Is she our enemy or our ally? All I know is that I better get rid of Azula fast. Katara's gonna need all the help she can get with Raven. _

He was pulled out of his thoughts as a streak of lightning missed him by only a few inches. He turned and faced Azula head on, in a fighting stance, and prepared to fight.

Fire blazed out of the hands of both, at the exact same moment. Red and Blue met head on in the center between Azula and Zuko. It kept coming and coming. Dodging and throwing, dodging and throwing. An endless circle for the both of them. They seemed evenly matched.

But then Zuko made the mistake of checking on Katara. It was then that he realized Katara and Raven had disappeared, obviously taking up another location to fight _their _fight. It was then that _his _battle ended.

"_**Ah**_!" Zuko fell back as the fire burnt his legs. He landed hard on the ground and within seconds, Azula was over him, fireball in hand. _Not again. How many times am I gonna be face to face with death today?_

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

Katara grimaced with pain as she hit the ground. She had gotten pushed back hard. She quickly swung her legs around and knocked Raven back a bit. Katara stood and put some distance between them, opting to continue running until she turned a few different corners. She came out on another, completely barren street.

Raven growled as she stood back up, immediately chasing after the other girl. When they came to a standstill, she got into a bending stance and waited for the waterbender to make the first move. When it never came, she spoke.

"Are you going to fight? Or are you going to stand there?"

As soon as she said it, the water came flying her way. She easily jumped out of the way and shot a bit of fire towards Katara. She dodged as well. They continued in this fashion for a while, neither really getting tired.

But then, Raven accidently tripped over a piece of stone from a building that had been damaged. She stumbled, letting out a yelp of surprise, but did not fall. Nonetheless, it gave Katara all the time she needed. As Raven gained her bearings, she noticed that Katara had thrown a stream of water and it was heading straight for her face. She didn't have time to dodge.

Katara was happy. _Yes! I finally got her. Sheer luck, but I finally got her! She can't dodge this one!_ Katara was jumping with joy in her mind.

_Crud. This ain't good. _Raven thought._ Well, I'm really not supposed to do this, but it's the only choice I've got._

Right before the water hit, it froze in midair. Then it dropped to the ground with a splash. With a quick move of her arms, the water returned to life again and rushed towards Katara. In a split second, Katara had gone from celebrating the joy of winning to being frozen to the wall unable to move a muscle.

_But…but…how? She's a fire-bender! Only a Water-bender could have done that._ Katara's eyes were wide with shock and confusion. She stared at Raven.

When Raven finally met her gaze, she gave a sheepish smile. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a yell that both recognized as Zuko's.

* * *

**A/N: So there we go! Oh my... I just noticed that I yet again left you with a cliffhanger... sorry about that :) Haha.. **

**Review?**


	11. Chapter 11: Betrayal Or Loyalty

**A/N: Umm….Enjoy! Nothing else to say here. **

**Rewrite: 7-6-20: Man, I am just on a **_**roll**_** with these rewrites! Keep 'em coming! The sooner these come out, the sooner the sequel does, huh? :D Find anything that still needs to be fixed then just slip it by me in a message or something! :)**

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

**Chapter 11: Betrayal or Loyalty**

_Right before the water hit, it froze in midair. Then it dropped to the ground with a splash. With a quick move of her arms, the water returned to life again and rushed towards Katara. In a split second, Katara had gone from celebrating the joy of winning to being frozen to the wall unable to move a muscle._

_'But…but…how? She's a fire-bender! Only a Water-bender could have done that.'__ Katara's eyes were wide with shock and confusion. She stared at Raven._

_When Raven finally met her gaze, she gave a sheepish smile. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a sharp yell that both girls recognized as Zuko's._

Both Raven and Katara's heads snapped over to where Zuko and Azula had been fighting. The two of them were a street over, but just so happened to have an alleyway connecting the streets and giving them all a clear view of each other.

"Zuko! No!" Katara screamed. She saw the fire in Azula's hand, and the smirk on the princess's face proved it. She was about to kill Zuko. _Please…Zuko you can't die…I…I…_ Her thoughts went unfinished.

Azula raised her fist above her head. Her hand sparkled with blue fire. Her infamous smirk plastered on her face. Giving her brother a victorious look, she began to lower her fist in a threatening manner towards Zuko's face.

Zuko's eyes were wide with fear. _Hmm…whose going to save me this time? Raven is too absorbed in the fight with Katara… I hope she's all right… All the others are somewhere else. Looks like this time is truly the end for me._

_I've finally done it! _Azula's thoughts were jumping with joy and victory. _I've killed my brother! Daddy's going to be so proud this time. The traitor is dead!_ Her hand still descended.

"_**Wait!**_"

Azula froze. She turned around to face the speaker, her smirk rapidly turning into a scowl, eyes forming a pretty menacing glare as she glanced at the person who had dared to interrupt her. "_What_?" She growled in a tone that would have lesser persons on their knees begging for forgiveness and following through with her every whim.

It was a good thing that Raven was not much a lesser person. She held back all but a sharp flinch at the Fire Nation princess's tone of voice. Who knew so much malice could be poured into one word? "Well. I was thinking. Maybe… you should… let me… kill him?" She tried not to squeak, barely coming up with a plan at the end of her sentence.

Azula raised an eyebrow. "And _why_ exactly would I let you do that?"

Raven thought for a moment. "Uh…" She cleared her throat. She desperately tried to think of an excuse and formulate a working plan before Azula saw through her delay. Her mind was racing in overdrive. _Let's see here… dang… no, that won't work… no, she'll she right through that… AH-HA! Got it!_

Trying to write off her pause as just figuring out the right way to word her proposal, Raven started announcing her reasoning. "Well, Princess. I couldn't help but notice lately that you've been wary of my loyalty to you and the Fire Nation. So I thought, why not show you just how loyal I am now? You know of the past your brother and I had. We were best friends. Surely, killing him would prove that I'm 100% loyal to you?" Raven spoke in what she hoped was her most convincing voice, desperately wishing that Azula would buy it and her plan would work.

Azula narrowed her eyes. She seemed suspicious at first, but after a few tense seconds, eventually gave in. "Fine. Have it your way. I take it the Water-Bender is dead?"

Raven hesitated. "Oh, yes. Completely."

Raven saw the way that Zuko's eyes widened at that statement. He looked as though his heart was going to break. She felt guilty for tricking him, but it was necessary in order to keep them all alive. If she had said that Katara was still alive, then it would've looked suspicious to Azula for her to have ended that fight in the middle just so she could 'prove her loyalty'. As dense as Azula was sometimes, even she would have seen straight through that. Raven had gotten by scot free, and now if she could just get Azula to go and find the others and the Avatar, maybe she could handle getting these two out of here safely.

"Good. But as you do this… I might just go check."

Or not. Raven grimaced. _She must have caught my hesitation. Oi…she's too smart for her own good. I better hurry this up then… before she figures out my little lie._

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

Katara was confused. She could hear them talking over on the opposite street, but could only glimpse a bit of them here and there due to her predicament of being frozen to the wall. This Raven had saved Zuko before, and now she was going to kill him? She thought they had been friends in the past. Katara could never fathom betraying her friends for anything, especially not to show loyalty to some egotistical princess.

She heard her name spoken. Azula had asked if she was dead. Raven replied in the affirmative. _What the...? I'm not dead. She knew that. Then why would she say…?_ She heard footsteps, obviously Azula's, walking her way. _Maybe I should play along. I am stuck to the wall… I wouldn't be able to defend myself if Azula caught me alive… _And with that thought, Katara slumped her shoulders, bowed her head, closed her eyes, and did her best impression of a dead girl.

She heard as Azula came closer. She just hoped that her impression would pass the test.

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

As soon as Azula turned her back, Raven rushed up to Zuko's side. "Listen." She spoke in a whisper. "I can heal you the best I can… but my healing powers still aren't that great. And after I do, you have to pretend that you're dead, alright?" She paused and looked Zuko in the eyes.

He was staring at her. Shock and confusion were written all over his face.

"Why?" He asked. "Are you on our side, or hers? I swear, Raven, you've confused me more today than I have ever been in my life." He shook his head in complete wonder. "What happened to you over these years?"

"Now the latter is a question I hope to be able to answer soon, my old friend. And why am I doing this? Because after all this time, I still consider you my closest friend." She snorted softly and shook her head. "Isn't that pathetic? Shows how much I've been doing lately."

Raven stood and looked around for a source of water. She saw a fountain nearby and bended some water around her hands. She kneeled down again and placed her hands over the burns on Zuko's legs. She closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Her hands glowed a faint blue.

"Lucky this burn isn't serious, or there's no way I could even fathom how to heal it. It should be fine for now. Hopefully it won't hurt when you walk or fight." Raven whispered as she continued to heal the teen in front of her. She felt his eyes on the back of her head, which she kept downturned and focused on her task. She wanted to meet them, but knew she didn't have the energy to deny his questions any longer.

"What do you think you're doing girl?"

Raven's eyes widened, caught off guard, but recognizing the voice that came from behind them. "Uh-oh."

_**X-X-x-X-X**_

_Sokka cringed. It was one thing to be beaten by a girl, but to be told what you did wrong and be called stupid…well that was truly embarrassing. "Wait a second; I thought you didn't use violence?" He asked her._

_"I said that unnecessary violence was wrong. You attacked me. I was merely using self-defense." She smiled down at him._

_Sokka groaned and rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long day._

The girl didn't look like she was going to make any further movements or threats, so Sokka just decided to sit back (or in this case, lie down) and watch the show.

Aang seemed to be easily holding his own against Mai. She was currently on the defense, and she looked tired and about to break.

Ty-Lee on the other hand looked as if she was having the time of her life. She was easily dodging any attempt of Toph's and was currently on the offense, making Toph dodge quite a bit. Sokka could tell that Toph was having difficulties. Ty-Lee was jumping around, seemingly flying through the air, and it was hard for Toph to decipher her movements.

Ty-Lee was getting closer and closer to Toph. The blind girl frowned in annoyance, noticing this. _Darn. I can't follow her as well as others. If I don't pick it up soon, she's going to get me. _Toph was close to panicking.

Aang was getting tired as well, but he knew he could hold out long enough to beat Mai. She seemed to be in a worse condition than he was at the moment. The bald monk shot another air ball at her, which she dodged. But Aang hadn't seen the knives she threw until just in time. Still, one of them sliced his arm pretty deep. He let out a small cry.

Toph heard Aang's cry and she whipped around to make sure he was okay. Unfortunately for her, that was all Ty-Lee needed. She landed a blow on all of Toph's pressure points, rendering her motionless. Toph's mouth barely made it open in surprise before she fell to the ground.

_Oh great. This is just great. _She thought sarcastically. Looking over towards Sokka, who was watching Aang's fight with interest, she shouted at him. "Hey Sokka! Are you just going to sit there? Or are you gonna help us?"

Toph's snarling voice snapped Sokka out of his thoughts. "Oh! Well…you see…" He glanced up at the girl, who was still holding the sword at his throat. "I'm kind of in a dilemma here…" He smiled sheepishly at Toph.

"You. Are. Such. An. Idiot." She annunciated each word, getting angrier with each. She glared at him. "You're always saying how tough you are, and you get beat by a girl so easily? I'll bet she's not even that great."

"I beg your pardon little miss _attitude_." The girl glared back at Toph. "I am perfectly capable of handling a sword. Plus, I wouldn't be talking. I'm standing, and I obviously have the upper hand on my opponent. You, on the other hand…" She smiled tauntingly.

Toph scoffed at her. "Yeah, _I_ on the other hand, could kick _your_ butt into next year."

"You just keep telling yourself that, Hun." She scoffed, genuinely offended. "I am opposed to violence, and therefore, will not prove you wrong…although I could if I wanted to of course."

"Enough talk." Ty-Lee butted in. "We need to hurry up and find Azula. I wonder if she's finished off her brother and that girl yet…"

"Well, she's immobilized and I've got this guy under control. Why don't you go see if she's finished?" Kiara suggested to her.

"I suppose. Mai! Have you got the Avatar under control?" Ty-Lee yelled to her.

All she received in return was a nod of Mai's head as the girl dodged yet another of Aang's attacks. And with that, Ty-Lee jumped off to the center of the village where Zuko and Azula were.

As soon as Ty-Lee left, the fight immediately came to an end. Aang sent a series of Air-whooshes towards Mai, who had suddenly become too tired to dodge them all. She dodged a few, but ended up getting one full blast. She was hurtled backwards and thrown onto the ground hard. She didn't get back up, knocked unconscious, surely.

Aang sighed with relief. _Phew. That's finally over. Now I can help Toph and Sokka_. But as he turned around, he noticed something wrong. Where was Ty-Lee? And why was Toph lying on the ground? Why was that girl standing over Sokka with a sword at his throat, and not doing anything to hurt him or Toph? She was their only remaining enemy it seemed, so he immediately rushed over to them all.

"Toph! Are you okay?" Aang ran to her first.

"Ty-Lee knocked my pressure points, so I won't be able to move for a while. But other than that, yeah. I'm fine." Toph and Aang both looked over towards Sokka and his captor.

The girl sighed. "Well, this is just great." She said to herself. "Three…well two… against one. Not fair. I suppose I don't have much of a choice now, do I?" She lowered her sword and dropped it at her feet, stepping forward in front of Sokka. She held her hands up at her sides.

"I surrender."

Sokka jumped up, grabbed the sword, and swung it around to face the girl. It was pointed straight at the back of her neck.

She snorted with laughter. "I'm sorry, but that sword simply won't be enough to beat me. Especially if you're the one wielding it. You are of no match for me. With or without a sword." She turned her head just enough to look Sokka in the eye. She smiled.

"Shut up! Just because you beat me once, doesn't mean you'll beat me again. You caught me off guard! I'll beat you this time!" Sokka desperately tried to defend himself.

The girl rolled her eyes. "You are so much fuller of yourself than I thought. Too cocky. Someone needs to teach you a lesson." And with that, she spun around to face him, disregarding the sword.

As Sokka swung his sword, she ducked and circled her feet around to knock him off balance. He fell and the sword flew out of his hands, clattering on the ground as it slid away. She stood above him in a bending stance, looking as though she was going to hit him.

"See? I told you. You can't even keep your grip on it." She smiled down at him again.

_Jeez…this girl is crazy… and she smiles too much._ Sokka thought with wide eyes. The girl backed up and held out her hand. Sokka raised an eyebrow. _Is she offering to help me up? What the…?_ Too pride-filled, he ignored the hand and pushed himself up, sweeping imaginary dust off of his shoulders.

The girl sighed and turned around to face the others. "Anyways, I'm Kiara. Nice to meet you all."

She smiled.

* * *

**A/N: OMG! Longest chapter yet! I'm so proud of myself! :D Read and **_**Review**_** Please!**

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	12. Chapter 12: Revealed

**A/N: Well hello! This chapter was late because…I just lost interest in this story for a while. But then I was suddenly STRUCK with inspiration from a quote that I randomly found on my computer! I saw it and this chapter just went BAM into my head (even though there's not much in the chapter that pertains to the quote...Haha) and so I flung up Microsoft Word and started typing away. Thanks so much for all of you people who have taken the time to read and review...or favorite...or alert this story! Hope it keeps up to your liking! **

**But...enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Rewrite: 7-6-10: Still on my roll. Nice. Not much to do in this chapter though. Just some grammar. **_**Onward**_**! **

_**X-x-X-x-X**_

**Chapter 12: Revealed  
**_"In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it." ~Lao Tzu_

_**X-x-X-x-X**_

_'Jeez…this girl is crazy… and she smiles too much'.__ Sokka thought with wide eyes. The girl backed up and held out her hand. Sokka raised an eyebrow. '__Is she offering to help me up? What the…?'__ Too pride-filled, he ignored the hand and pushed himself up, sweeping imaginary dust off of his shoulders._

_The girl sighed and turned around to face the others. "Anyways, I'm Kiara. Nice to meet you all."_

_She smiled._

"Why are you suddenly so happy to see us? We. Are. Your. E-N-E-M-I-E-S. Enemies!" Toph annunciated each word as if she was teaching Kiara a lesson. "Shouldn't you be running along to help capture the Avatar with your little Fire-Nation buddies?" Toph sneered at her.

"Well!" Kiara shouted in indignation. "You know nothing about me. I could have killed your little friend here, and I could be attacking you right now, but _no_. _I_ am trying to be the better person here and—"

"_You_ know you don't stand a chance against all of us by yourself so you're trying to trick us by being all _'friendly'_. And besides, you could not have killed me. There is no way you would even come close. You couldn't even lay a finger on me." Sokka added to the argument smugly.

Kiara spun around and glared at Sokka. She was getting madder by the second. "That's IT!" She yelled.

Sokka ran and picked up his sword and held it towards Kiara, ready to fight. But instead of using her sword, Kiara got into a bending stance. Sokka didn't even have the chance to get out of the way, as a big flaming ball of fire came flying into him.

Sokka grunted as he was thrown back from the force of the blow. He landed on the ground a ways away and made no further movements.

"Sokka!" Toph and Aang yelled in unison, shocked by the sudden ferocity.

Kiara advanced on his body, which was still lying motionless on the ground. As soon as she came within five feet, Sokka leaped up and threw (yes threw) his sword at Kiara. Due to the close distance of the two, Sokka knew Kiara wouldn't be able to deflect it with her fire-bending. He had got her!

But with a quick movement of her hands, and a sudden burst of wind, the sword merely clattered on the ground a few feet in front of her.

Her eyes were wide and she looked frightened. She immediately spun around, and looked everywhere her eyes could see.

"Nobody else saw that, right? No fire-benders just saw that?" Kiara spun around searching for any onlookers, but once she found none, she seemed to relax somewhat. "Phew. If Azula ever found out I could do that, she would freak. I'd be dead within the minute-nay-the second!" Kiara smiled. "I'm sure lucky." She looked at the faces of the three others around her and dead-panned dramatically, smiling sheepishly.

"What? Never seen an air-bender before?" She asked, laughing nervously.

Aang's face was filled with hope.

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

_"Lucky this burn isn't serious, or there's no way I could even fathom how to heal it. It should be fine for now. Hopefully it won't hurt when you walk or fight." Raven whispered as she continued to heal the teen in front of her. She felt his eyes on the back of her head, which she kept downturned and focused on her task. She wanted to meet them, but knew she didn't have the energy to deny his questions any longer. _

_"What do you think you're doing girl?"_

_Raven's eyes widened, caught off guard, but recognizing the voice that came form behind them. "Uh-oh."_

Raven tensed. She spared a glance back, without turning her head, towards the questioner. She breathed a sigh of relief, confirming her suspicions.

Ty-Lee. It was just Ty-Lee. Azula was still gone looking for Katara. Just Ty-Lee.

_I can take Ty-Lee no problem._ Raven thought with pride.

But wait. Wasn't Ty-Lee supposed to be fighting the Avatar and his other little friends? Where were they? And…where was Mai?

_No time to think about what happened to all of them. Must figure out how to get rid of Ty-Lee. Hmm..._ Raven weighed her options. _I could ignore her for a little while. But then she'd attack me, or something. And Azula might come back. Oh, man… looks like I have to fight her._ Her hands were still glowing a faint blue as she turned her head once again to face Ty-Lee.

"Well, hello there! I see you've finished with the Avatar and his little friends. Where is the Avatar? Weren't you supposed to capture him?" Raven smiled innocently.

"We've got them all under control back there. It was pretty easy actually, and now I've just got to go ask Azula- wait a sec. You didn't answer my question. What exactly are you doing?" Ty-Lee questioned again.

_Darn. I thought I'd escaped there._ Raven frowned. "Oh. I'm just…"

"Is that…? Is that Zuko? Are you healing…Zuko? But he's the traitor. We're supposed to kill him, not heal him! What do you think you're doing?" Ty-Lee jumped up into the air and started back flipping towards Raven and Zuko.

'"Oh darn. And I was so hoping she wouldn't do this." Raven rolled her eyes as she whispered to Zuko. "Just sit tight. I'll take care of it."

She stood and faced Ty-Lee straight on. The closer Ty-Lee got to her, the more determined Raven looked. She was going to end this so she wouldn't have to worry about Azula coming back too soon . . . and having to fight both, while simultaneously trying to protect Zuko.

Ty-Lee was close enough to touch, but still Raven stood motionless. Ty-Lee shot her arm forwards to knock a pressure point near Raven's shoulder. But the substance her hand came in contact with was not skin, nor clothing. It was ice.

"Ah!" Ty-Lee gasped in pain as her hand knocked hard, straight onto the solid ice. She landed on her feet a few meters away and cradled her hand. A few fingers were broken, bent back from the collision with the ice. She stared in shock at Raven's shoulder. _I should have hit her shoulder. It was straight on target. How did she? Where did that ice come from?_ The ice was no longer present on Raven's shoulder. It seemed to have appeared and disappeared in only a split second.

Raven turned around slowly and faced Ty-Lee. She moved her hands in a quick _swish_ and the water from the fountain began creeping towards Ty-Lee from behind her.

Ty-Lee didn't even notice it coming at her. She was still too shocked by the possibility of Raven even being able to do something like this. _How. . ? This is impossible . . . she's a Fire-bender . . . not a . . . a . . . a. . ._ Even her thoughts wouldn't come out right. Her gaze shot up to Raven's face. She had a smirk written all over her features. Ty-Lee's eyes narrowed. This girl was mocking her! Well, she would have to make sure to knock that smirk right off her face!

Ty-Lee took a step forward, only to find that she couldn't move her feet. She tried again, only to fail once more. _That's odd. And why are my feet getting so cold?_ She glanced down at her feet to find that they were frozen to the ground, a sparkling strip of ice connecting them to the water in the fountain. She looked back up to Raven in shock. _No wonder she was smirking. I spaced out too much. I didn't even notice I was being attached to the ground. Great. _

Ty-Lee watched helplessly as Raven once again made a movement with her arms. This time she had created a small block of ice that landed in her palm. She tossed it up and caught it a few times, watching it sparkle in the sun. She looked mesmerized by its pure beauty. The third time it dropped, she stopped it, stared at it, and then looked at Ty-Lee.

Raven smiled a bit before throwing it in Ty-Lee direction. Before she had time to react, the ice had hit her straight in the forehead, knocking her out. Ty-Lee fell limp.

"Well, that takes care of that. Now where was I?" Raven turned back to Zuko with a big smile. "Ah! That's right! I was almost done here. . ." She knelt down and placed her hands over Zuko's burnt legs again. After a few minutes, the burn marks had vanished. She stood and held out a hand to Zuko. Her smile softened as she spoke. "Come on, we better go before Azula comes back. Hopefully your little girlfriend took the hint and played dead. We can catch up later."

Zuko took her hand and yanked himself up. He nodded and headed towards the place Katara was still frozen to the wall, Raven walking by his side.

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

"You're a . . . you're a . . . YOU'RE AN AIR-BENDER?" Sokka screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Shut up, you idiot." Kiara whispered back harshly. "If any of the fire-benders around here figured that out, I'd not only be punished for treachery, but deceit, and so many other things! The Air-benders are supposed to be extinct! If they find out what I am, they'll just kill me! I won't get a second to explain myself!" Her eyes were filled with fear as she pleaded with Sokka. "Please keep quiet . . . I'll do anything!"

"If you're an Air-bender, where are the arrows huh? Aang's got 'em. Where are yours?" Sokka asked her with a disbelieving look on his face.

"To tell you the truth . . . I don't really know. I never even had them."

Aang's eyes narrowed. "I thought every Air-bender was, like, born with the arrows. How did you not get them?"

"We're not born with them, Sokka." Aang mumbled.

"Maybe because I'm also a Fire-bender? I mean . . . I was young when I left the Northern Air Temple, so I don't really remember my time there." She shrugged. "But nonetheless, I am an Air-bender. And I'm proud of it. That's why I feel no obligation or loyalty to the Fire-Nation. They killed my friends and destroyed my home."

"But then why are you fighting with the Fire-nation Princess _against_ us? We're the good guys! I mean, come on! Aang's an Air-bender! His home was your home—" Sokka argued.

"You wouldn't understand a lot about me." Her gaze flickered to the ground, a sad look overtaking her face for a mere second before she snapped her head back up and the smile returned. "But let's save those stories for a later time, shall we? We should go see if Azula is having any trouble with the rest of your friends."

She looked at Aang. He was still staring at her with an unsure look. His mind was still a bit hesitant to believe that this girl was truly an Air-bender like him. But that move she did was unmistakably Air-bending! It had to be!

With that declaration, he smiled bright at Kiara. "Yeah. Let's go."

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

_She heard her name spoken. Azula had asked if she was dead. Raven replied in the affirmative. 'What the...? I'm not dead. She knew that. Then why would she say…?' She heard footsteps, obviously Azula's, walking her way. 'Maybe I should play along. I am stuck to the wall… I wouldn't be able to defend myself if Azula caught me alive…' And with that thought, Katara slumped her shoulders, bowed her head, closed her eyes, and did her best impression of a dead girl._

_She heard as Azula came closer. She just hoped that her impression would pass the test._

Her footsteps ended. There was no sound but Azula's breathing, and she was close.

Katara prayed that Azula couldn't hear her heart beating. It was fast and loud, like a hammer to her own ears, practically deafening her. Holding her breath wasn't helping at all, either.

"Hmm…" She heard Azula's drawn out sigh, and then to Katara's horror, her laugh. Her laugh was not loud and boisterous, but merely sounded like she was either impressed or disappointed with something. Or someone.

Katara wished she could open her eyes and see Azula's face. Would she be smirking? Or would she be mad? Did she know that Katara wasn't really dead? If Azula didn't figure out something soon, Katara may as well die. Not breathing, and not raising her chest in order to remain undetected, was proving to become much more difficult. Sooner or later, she would either suffocate herself or reveal to Azula just how alive she was. Katara didn't know which one would be worse.

If she revealed herself, she would be entirely helpless. She was still frozen to the wall after all. She couldn't move anything but her head and her shoulders. She needed her hands to fight at all. But if she revealed herself, she would still have the possibility of someone coming to rescue her. If someone did come, it would be better if she were alive. Right?

But who would come to save her? Aang and Toph were back at the meeting spot, waiting for her, Zuko, and Sokka to come back, Sokka was somewhere . . . unknown to Katara. And Zuko. Zuko was apparently with that girl Raven. Were they fighting again? Was she going to save him? The scream that they heard earlier had come from him. Was he even . . ? _Don't think that! Of course he's not dead! Oh . . . But I hope he's all right. Please . . . please don't let anything happen to him._ She begged her thoughts. Zuko had said earlier that he had known Raven before. But he didn't know if she was still a friend or not . . .

Her chest started burning, the dizziness starting to overwhelm her, tearing her from her private musings. Unable to hold out any longer, she opened her eyes and gasped for breath. Katara came face to face with Azula.

"I was wondering how long you would last." She snorted. "Longer than I thought. You've got some lungs, waterbender. But, I couldn't help but notice that you don't have your arms at the moment." She clicked her tongue. "How sad for you. Looks like I can just get rid of you without a fight. Then I can deal with that little traitor and my brother." She smirked and backed up a few yards.

She turned to face Katara once more and got into a bending stance. A bolt of lightning came shooting straight at Katara's head.

Her eyes widened as she struggled hard against the ice holding her captive. The lightning was coming closer.

All of a sudden, she yelped as she fell flat on her butt, the ice having melted away quickly. The lightning hit the back of the wall where her head had just been.

"What the…?" Azula yelled.

Katara's eyes followed the water that had earlier held her as it slowly slithered towards the doorway of a destroyed shop near-by. It reached its destination and reared upwards and into a small pouch, similar to Katara's own. Katara glanced at the face of the pouch's owner, and was shocked to see Raven standing there with a smile on her face. But Raven wasn't alone. Someone else was standing by her side with the same smile on his face. His appearance brought a relieved smile to Katara's face as well.

_Zuko. Thank God, you're safe._

* * *

**A/N: WOOT! WOOT! Longer chapters! I'm getting better, guys! Anyways, Review! Tell me what you think of the story so far! XD  
**  
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	13. Chapter 13: Traitors

**A/N: I hate making excuses. As I have told some of you. So I'm just gonna say it's all my fault and I'm so so so so so so so so unbelievably sorry for how late this is. I hope I still have readers. :( So, I tried to make this one a bit longer to make up for the lateness. It worked, to an extent. Enjoy!**

**Rewrite: 7-6-10: Ahh, the trial and error of updating quickly. Memories. Hopefully I get better with that on the sequel. ^_^ Not a lot to fix here plot wise, just mostly grammar. Hope you likey! :D **

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

**Chapter 13: Traitors**

Sokka's glare was unsettling on her back. She could feel it boring into her. But, alas, she walked continuously forward, not admitting defeat in their silent battle of wills. She would not give in and admit how his steady gaze was affecting her so much. It felt like a laser-beam was coming out from his eyes, burning a hole into her back, although not so much painful as it was irritating.

He didn't trust her. Well, that was to be expected seeing as she _had_ come from the Fire-Nation. And she _had_ beaten him. Twice. Or was it three times?

His hand was even hovering over his sword, as if he expected her to jump out and attack at any given moment. Kiara mentally laughed. Even if she did attack, which she didn't plan on doing, he wouldn't stand a chance against her. Even if she didn't use her bending.

Aang and Toph were walking a few yards in front of them. Kiara insisted on walking behind them all, for no apparent reason, and Sokka had been skeptical. He further insisted that he walk behind her, obviously to make sure she didn't try any funny business.

Lost in her thoughts, Kiara missed her footing a little and stumbled over the ground. She caught herself before falling, but Sokka was still on guard. He had his sword half-way out, his eyes wide, and his glare turned on high.

Kiara 'tsked' and started to walk again. This was getting ridiculous. The other two seemed to trust her just fine. Why was he any different? The glare was directed at her back again, and she was just about ready to crack.

So she decided to speak.

"Listen, for the hundredth time, I'm not going to randomly attack you. So you can relax, alright?" She glanced at Sokka over her shoulder. "And stop staring at my back like you're going to kill me. It's kind of annoying." She scowled a bit.

For a split second, Sokka looked embarrassed. As soon as it came it disappeared, and an emotionless mask seemed to wash over his face. He looked Kiara in the eyes. "Whatever," he mumbled, "Just keep walking." He started forward and pushed past her, slightly bumping her sideways.

Kiara stood still, shocked into silence for a few seconds. What happened? Had she said something wrong? Her first impression of him was a hyper guy who thought he was all that - but really wasn't – and one who was – obviously – dead set on 'exposing' her Fire-Nation ways (although she had none). Not some . . . emotionless, closed-up, almost-depressed looking guy.

She was yet again knocked out of her thoughts, but this time by a voice. She spun around to face Sokka as he spoke. His back was to her, looking towards the town with his head held high. A small wisp of black smoke was easily visible against the bright blue background of sky.

"I _swear_, if your little Fire-Nation friends did anything to harm my sister… I don't care if you and Aang are the only two Air-Benders left… I'll make it one again." And with that said, he jogged up closer to the others.

_So, that's why he's so quiet and distant. His sister is one of the ones fighting Azula and Raven. For my sake, and his sanity, I hope she's all right. _Kiara smiled sadly, and jogged in front of Sokka.

She glanced over her shoulder, taking in his confused look.

"What? You've got to keep an eye on me so I don't do anything funny. Right? Well, in order for you to do that, I have to stay in front of you."

After a few seconds of silence, Sokka huffed and shook his head in a 'You're crazy' manner. But when Kiara caught his eyes again, she saw his gaze had softened a bit. What had been a glare was now just a . . . intense stare.

'_Well I suppose I can live with that for now.'_ She smiled to herself and walked on.

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

Katara immediately opened her mouth to say something, but was just as quickly cut off by Azula's screech of pure anger.

"_**You!**_" She screeched. "You little backstabbing, traitorous . . . _**Ohhhh**_," She grumbled. "I should have known you wouldn't kill him. I should've known you wouldn't even lay a finger on my pathetic brother. ARG! You're going to wish you stayed on the winning side, girl. For when victory finally comes," She looked triumphantly to the skies, "This land will proper. And all the little traitors will be punished. And, as of now, you two," She glared at Raven and Zuko, "are traitors at their best."

If looks could kill, Raven would have dropped dead on the ground within seconds of Azula's menacing glare. Katara was shocked at the pure hatred shining through that gaze, but Raven seemed unfazed. She shrugged nonchalantly as if saying none of what Azula had said mattered to her.

"I just moved to the winning side, Princess. I think you need some serious sense knocked into that head of yours. You know, you really aren't as smart as you think you are."

A vein popped in Azula's forehead.

Raven got into a fire-bending stance, pointing her hand towards Azula. "Zuko, I can handle your sister for a while. Go help your girlfriend." And with that said, she shot a ball of fire at Azula, gave Zuko a quick smile, and ran off. Azula growled, obviously getting very mad, and followed Raven without a second thought.

Zuko slightly frowned at Raven's back before walking to Katara's side. He grabbed her arm and gently helped her to her feet.

"I'm all right, really." She spoke slowly as she wobbled to her feet. "Just a little fall." A violent tremor went through her whole body. It was clearly visible to Zuko.

"Yeah. You're just cold." He replied matter-of-factly.

"I—" Another shudder cut off her speech. "I . . . Well I suppose I was frozen to the wall for quite a while." She cast her eyes downwards towards the ground and gave a small smile.

Zuko smiled back at her. "Yeah, and you're shivering like you were just in the South Pole or something. But . . . shouldn't you be used to the cold? You grew up there didn't you?"

Katara gave a short laugh. "It's been a while since I've been home. And besides, we wear big winter jackets and stuff." She looked Zuko in the eyes. "We should probably go help your friend."

"Nah, she can handle herself for a while. What about your brother? Do you think he found his way back to Aang and Toph? We have been out here a while now."

"He's probably just fine." Another harsh shudder racked Katara's body.

"You're still shivering. Here." Zuko, who was still holding Katara's arm, pulled her forward into a hug.

She tensed. "W-what are you…?"

"You're cold. We might as well try to warm you up a bit." After a few more seconds of tense silence, Zuko loosened his arms, thinking Katara was uncomfortable. "Sorry… I didn't mean to—"

But instead of backing away, Katara stepped forward farther and wrapped her arms back around Zuko. "It's alright. Just unexpected, that's all." Her small smile was hidden in Zuko's chest.

After a minute or so, both had the same thought going through their heads.

'_I could get used to this.' _

Katara was no longer cold, and they were comfortable in each other's arms until a large **BOOM** resounded and a building a few feet away burst into blue flames.

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

They had been walking for while in silence. Either they really had nothing to say, or they were too nervous as to what Katara and Zuko were up to.

Finally, they stepped foot in the village. Everything seemed normal from here, but as they walked around a few more blocks, they saw just how wrong they were.

"What the _heck_ happened?" Aang shouted.

He was staring at one of the many shops that sat in the middle of the village. It had been crumpled and destroyed, burnt to ashes. Only small pieces of it remained. Sokka walked over to it. There was a tiny fire struggling to survive, barely burning on one of the broken-off boards.

"Either Zuko got pretty pissed off, or something even worse happened." Sokka told the others. "Whatever it was that did this, it was a Fire-bender. No doubt about it. Do you think Azula really got to them?" He looked very shaken and worried.

_The perfect image of a protective older brother. _Kiara thought to herself, getting a look of Sokka's face. "Azula is here. And knowing her as well as I do, she had to have found your sister and her companion."

Kiara turned away from the mangled shop and continued on the road. She spotted a large fountain that marked the exact center of the village. She walked up to the edge and glanced into the water at her reflection. She gave herself a small smile and moved to walk on, when something caught the corner of her eye. It was shiny and reflective, the sun bouncing off of it and slightly blinding her. It was on the opposite side of the fountain, so she maneuvered around it to look. Once she was able to see the whole thing, she gasped.

"Ty-Lee?" Kiara inspected the ice in which Ty-Lee was trapped. It didn't seem to be melting at all, even in the sweltering heat of the sun that day. Frowning in confusion, Kiara checked Ty-Lee's pulse. Faint, but still there. She went to catch Ty-Lee's eyes, only to gasp once more. She was completely blue! Hypothermia must have been setting in, for Ty-Lee's face was not only freezing to the touch, but a bright blue color as well.

Kiara lit a small fire in her hand and put it up to the ice, hoping to melt it away and free Ty-Lee. But her efforts proved worthless. The ice was as strong as could be. Thinking quickly, she did the first thing that came to her mind.

"_**Aang!**_" She yelled.

The person she called was by her side within a minute.

"What is— is that Ty-Lee? What happened to her? "

"I'm not sure. But, can you water-bend and get her out of there? Hypothermia will set in very soon, and she'll freeze to death." Kiara practically begged the avatar.

"Uh… well…"

Two sets of footsteps came up behind the two. Sokka and Toph both asked the same question as Aang had. And Kiara answered the same way.

"Why would we help her live? Do you know how many times she's tried to kill us?" Sokka retorted, exasperated. "We should just let her die. One less person to deal with, right?"

"Do you have any idea what you're saying you insolent little _brat_? How _dare_ you cast out any human life like that? Everyone deserves to live! I'm not a big fan of hers either, but I still don't think she should _die_." Kiara shot back at him, furious.

"This is just all part of your little plan! You let someone fake-freeze her to the ground and pretend like she's dying of hypothermia, just so that we'll save her. And then when she's revived both of you will attack us, catching us off guard. Just when we think we've got you, more of your soldiers will come running at us with swords and Azula will pop out of the shadows and _KILL US ALL!_" Sokka ended his rant in a yell.

Kiara just stared at him blankly. "Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? She's blue. And unconscious. Even if she did regain consciousness, it would take days for her to even be able to fight as she was once able to. And besides, if I had wanted to kill you, I would have done it earlier." She gave him a slight frown and turned back to Aang. "Please? Just, try?"

"How come you don't just melt the ice with your Fire-bending?" Toph asked.

"I tried that. The ice didn't budge. It's like it's resistant to heat or something."

"Then alright, I'll try." Aang's efforts proved to be a lot more useful than Kiara's attempts. Ty-Lee was free from the ice within seconds. Kiara gently laid her on the ground.

"Well, at least she won't freeze to death, now. Here in the sun, it's a possibility that she'll warm up… I suppose there's nothing much more we can do for her."

"And at least my sister got rid of one for now. Now Ty-Lee and Mai are out of the picture." Sokka said.

"Your sister? She's a waterbender?" Kiara asked.

"Yep."

"Just a plain old, regular waterbender?"

"Yes…"

"Well then the one that froze Ty-Lee wouldn't have been your sister. If she was a normal waterbender than my firebending would have been able to melt it."

"So what are you saying? That there's another waterbender with us?" Toph asked.

"Not with you. With Azula. Her name is Raven. But it just doesn't add up. She came with Azula, so why did she attack Ty-Lee? They should have been working together…" Kiara trailed off, thinking to herself.

"Maybe this Raven girl is like you? Maybe she doesn't really like the Fire Nation, and so she decided to help the Avatar?" Toph suggested.

"It's a possibility… I guess." Kiara mumbled.

"You don't sound so sure." Aang mumbled back.

"I'm not sure. That girl is…different. I'm not sure about her ties to Azula or the Fire-Nation. She didn't kill Ty-Lee straight out, so there's a small possibility that she's just tricking your sister. That could mean big trouble for your friends." Kiara mumbled still, half to herself.

"Well then let's go _find_ them." Sokka yelled.

"I hope she's alright…" Aang mumbled. He cast his eyes downwards as a sad look crossed his face.

Kiara managed to catch the mumbled words and the facial expression. "You really care about this girl don't you, Aang?" She asked him quietly.

Aang's eyes widened a bit before nodding his head slightly.

Kiara smiled brightly, patted him on the back, and caught up to Sokka, who was already walking forward.

Toph walked slowly past Aang. She had a sad look on her face as she stopped in front and turned to look at him over her shoulder. "We better keep up. We need to find them soon. Night is coming." She met his eyes for a split second before turning and continuing on.

Aang didn't miss the sadness in her usually non-expressive eyes. _What's gotten into her? She doesn't care about Katara that much… I thought they hated each other. _He stared at Toph's back confusingly. _Whatever. Katara, here I come! I'm going to save you and then you'll be so grateful that you'll fall in love with me! _

Toph walked in complete silence. Her thoughts, on the other hand, were very loud indeed_. 'What the heck is WRONG with that boy?'_ Her thoughts screamed. _Sugar Queen THIS, Sugar Queen THAT! Is she really ALL he EVER thinks of?_

A whoosh of air passed her as Aang rushed by, a determined look on his face.

_Will he ever care for me that way?_ Her thoughts whispered.

She gently shook her head in a half-hearted attempt to shut up her thoughts. It was a failed attempt though, as they continued to rant about how stupid Aang was for choosing Katara over her.

But then, abruptly, they stopped. Something else was pushing through her senses, trying to get to her full attention. It was something, all right. And it was big.

"Guys!" She yelled. But it was too late.

A loud BOOM shook the area around them.

And a big ball of fire engulfed the area in flames and smoke galore.

The area in front of her.

The area in which Aang had just been standing.

* * *

**A/N: Holy crap. It's finished. **

**Review?**


	14. Chapter 14: Buried

**A/N: Hey there!  
I am officially saddened…. I got two reviews for my last chapter :( But thanks to them, I got motivation to write another chapter today… so ZutaraBabe and****Zukoluver****, this chapter is dedicated to you two. Enjoy!**

**Rewrite: 7-6-1011:57pm: WOO! It's late. This chapter needed quite a bit more work then the last few. It's done now. One more chapter of rewrite tonight and it's off to work on the second chapter of the sequel. I repeat… WOO!**

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

**Chapter 14: Buried**

_But instead of backing away, Katara stepped forward farther and wrapped her arms back around Zuko. "It's alright. Just unexpected, that's all." Her small smile was hidden in Zuko's chest. _

_After a minute or so, both had the same thought going through their heads. _

'_I could get used to this.' _

_Katara was no longer cold and they were comfortable in each other's arms until a large __**BOOM**__ resounded and a building a few feet away burst into blue flames. _

The two leapt apart in shock.

"What was that?" Katara asked. She knew it was sort of a stupid question. Considering the BOOM was obviously the building in flames across the street. But in the shock, it was the first thing that came to her mind to say.

What she really meant was 'what caused that building to burst into blue flame?' But that could also be considered a stupid question. The only person they knew that had that color blue flame was Azula.

But luckily, Zuko knew what she had meant.

"Raven must really be causing trouble over there." He said.

"That was a big explosion. You think she's alright?" Katara looked hesitantly at Zuko.

Zuko looked back at Katara. He had an exasperated look on his face. "She's just fine. Raven's too headstrong and pride-filled to lose in a fight like this. Especially one with Azula."

He looked confident that he spoke the truth. But Katara could hear the bit of worry in his tone of voice when he spoke. He sounded as though he was convincing himself of it as well.

Katara felt a twinge of something in her heart. Was it jealousy? Her brain sputtered. No, of course it wasn't _jealousy_. Why would she be feeling _jealous_?

"We should still go check, right? I'm okay now. We can go help her out." She told him.

"Yeah."

They headed over to the building. It was still on fire, the flames only growing taller and taller. The weather in the village was doing nothing to keep it under control. The sun shone brightly, and rain was scarce as a snowman in summer. The air was very dry, so the fire was able to thrive and spread like wild.

The building was tall as well. Perhaps two or three stories high. Flames and smoke shot out of the windows on every floor. They were facing the back end of the house. Katara hoped dearly that nobody was inside of the house when it blew.

She peered around the edge of the house to see if anyone was visible on the street in front. Raven and Azula in particular. When she saw nobody, she motioned for Zuko to follow, and the two of them crept to the front.

The street was deserted. Nobody in sight.

"Where did they go?" Katara asked. Her voice had started out strong, but faded to a whisper. It seemed strange to speak loudly when she was surrounded by silence.

Zuko replied in a whisper as well. "I don't know." He sighed. "Let's just check the neighboring streets; they couldn't have gone too far."

Katara nodded. "Which way first?"

"Maybe we should split up. It would cover more ground. And quicker too." He glanced sideways at her.

"Oh." Katara hadn't been expecting that. "Alright then. How will we know when the other has found them?"

"Good question. Umm… If you find them first, tell Raven to shoot some fire up into the sky or something like that. If I find them, I'll do the same. So the other will know the location. Once you see it, or if I see it, we'll meet at that spot. Got it?"

"Yeah."

They took one last glance at each other. Then they turned their opposite ways and walked.

Zuko paused and turned back to Katara. "And if you do find them, be careful. Azula is strong, as you know. And Raven is just as strong. I'm not 100% sure of her right now. So be careful, ok?" He yelled out to Katara.

She smiled. And without turning around, she yelled back.

"You too."

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

_Toph gently shook her head in a half-hearted attempt to shut up her thoughts. It was a failed attempt though, as they continued to rant about how stupid Aang was for choosing Katara over her. _

_But then, abruptly, they stopped. Something else was pushing through her senses, trying to get to her full attention. It was something, all right. And it was big. _

"_Guys!" She yelled. But it was too late. A loud BOOM shook the area around them, and a big ball of fire engulfed the area in flames and smoke galore. The area in front of her. _

_The area in which Aang had just been standing. _

Toph stood frozen.

Her heart had momentarily stopped beating in her chest.

She forced herself to move, to take a step forward. The breath she forced out stung and hurt her chest. She willed herself to say something, anything.

She couldn't speak, she could only scream. "NO!"

She couldn't step, she could only run. And so she ran.

And Toph ran as quick as she ever had before. It felt to her as though she was running farther and farther away. The pile of ash and rubble that had once been the tall-standing building was getting farther from her as she ran towards it.

She was taking too long, she thought. He would suffocate underneath the wood and ash, from the smoke of the fire. She wouldn't be able to get to him in time if she didn't hurry. _Aang could... he could be... d-d-d- NO! Don't say that. He wouldn't. He wouldn't DARE. He's the Avatar for goodness sake. He won't just up and die from something like this... no...'_ She was only trying to convince herself. And she knew it. Her mind rambled. Giving excuses. Hopes. Rattling off prayers to all of the spirits she knew, and then some.

If she didn't get there in time to save him, the guilt of it would weigh her down too far, as would the grief of losing him. It was her fault. If she hadn't been so wrapped up in her feelings of him, her senses would have been sharper. She would have noticed the vibrations of the building before it toppled and blew. She wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of that. So she ran faster, she ran harder.

Finally, through sheer determination, her feet put her at the edge of the large pile. Just as she came to it, her legs gave out from under her and she fell to her knees.

Her senses weren't working. They were spinning out of control. She tried to concentrate on any feeling of movement from underneath the pile. On how much movement was coming from the other side of the pile. It was a possibility that Sokka or that Kiara girl had pulled him to safety just in time. But she only felt enough vibration for two people. Aang was underneath the pile.

She grabbed piece after piece of wood and things too burnt up to recognize. She hurled them away behind her. She dug like crazy. The larger pieces she couldn't lift, she pushed or pulled out of the way, even using her earth-bending when she remembered she could.

_This isn't happening. This isn't happening._ The three words were repeated like a mantra in her head.

_He's alive. He's alive._ She told herself. _He has to be alive_.

"He's too strong to die like this." She said. "He's gonna come around the corner just fine and ask me what I'm doing digging in a pile of ashes." She laughed humorlessly to herself.

After what seemed like an eternity digging, the pile looked ominous. It seemed to loom over her, taunting her, telling her she would never find him. She gave up on trying to convince herself of his well-being, and instead began to prepare herself and steel her emotions for bad news. She put up her walls. Toph wouldn't let anything get through to her now. Nobody was going to see her cry.

She about gave up on it all when a single thought pushed its way through the barrier of her mind.

"I...I haven't even told you yet. I haven't told you how stupid you are for fawning over Katara like you do. You can't die stupid and oblivious." She put on a small smile. "And... And I haven't t-told you that I...I..." Her smile disappeared and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"That you what?"

Toph swung around with a gasp, surprised at the voice. She recognized it immediately.

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

"_**AHHHHHHHHHH**_!"

"Oh don't be such a little girl."

Sokka had emitted a sound that strongly resembled a girlish shriek of terror. Whereas Kiara had merely spun around in shock, producing a small gasp. Not a screech. She also gave him a smart remark.

"The building just collapsed. That's all."

Sokka had quickly gotten over his initial shock and was now looking around frantically.

"What are you looking for? Drop something when you got scared?" She asked him mockingly.

"Where's Aang? And Toph? Weren't they right behind us?" He asked in return.

The two looked at each other slowly. Then looked behind them once more at the pile of building remains.

"Oh—"

"Crud..." Sokka finished.

They ran forwards to the pile and started digging away. After a short while, they were both getting tired of lifting things from the mountain of rubble.

"You don't...happen to be a...an earth bender too? Do you?" Sokka panted between words from exhaustion.

Kiara gave him small glare. "Ha. Ha."

"How can you even have two elements you can bend? How is that even possible?" Sokka muttered.

"There's a few conditions that have to be met before you're born, having to do with your parents and all. At least, that's what I remember the monks at the Air Temple telling me. You're just born with the ability. It's called a double."

"Really… that's a real… original name for them, eh?" Sokka asked, muttering still.

"Don't look at me! I wasn't the one who gave us the name! Just keep digging!" Kiara groaned in exertion as she lifted a particularly heavy rock out of the way.

"Now's the time when we really need Toph here!" Sokka mumbled. "I hope they are alright. Aang's the _avatar_. He can't die."

"Actually, he's not immortal or anything, so he probably _could_ die." She stopped as she noticed Sokka's frowning face. "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure they are both fine. Just keep digging."

Sokka groaned in frustration, but followed the order.

"Mmm... Ohhhh…"

Kiara turned to Sokka. "Did you hear that?"

Sokka looked back. "I don't know. I heard something. It was just a mumble though."

They stared at each other for a few more minutes in confusion. Then they heard it again. Both of their eyes widened. "It's them!" They yelled in unison. They dug quicker with their newfound adrenaline. After a few moments, Aang emerged from the mass of building pieces, sputtering and coughing.

He sat down on the ground a few feet away from it. There were a few places on him where the small fire had burnt him or his clothes. He looked really dirty and beat up, covered in soot and rock. He took a pause from his hacking to glance up at Kiara and Sokka. "Thanks guys. Where's Toph?"

"We don't know. She may have gotten stuck under that mountain like you, or she's on the other side of it." Kiara offered.

"You guys didn't find her?" Aang asked, starting to get a little worried for his blind friend. "What if she's hurt? Or unconscious? Or stuck somewhere? We have to find her! What are you guy's doing just sitting here?" He jumped up and ran back over to the pile.

"Oh yeah… sorry about that. We won't rescue you next time, Avatar." Kiara scowled.

"Really, Aang?" Sokka commented. "Did you seriously. Just ask that. Nice…"

Putting the matter aside, Kiara suggested something else. "Maybe we should go check the other side of it first. She might be just fine, possibly searching and digging for you Aang. Digging for her could be a possible waste of time. We are still looking for Azula and your other two friends, right?"

Aang stood up and nodded to Kiara. "Right."

They crossed a few houses into another street to get around the pileup the collapsed building had caused. Then they crossed back into the original street to get on the other side of the pileup. There were quite a few crowds of people to maneuver around as well. It looked as if everyone had come out of his or her houses merely to gawk at the building that had toppled. Sokka heard mumbles from different people.

"What happened to it?" An old woman had asked.

"Was there anyone inside?" A young man, probably in his mid 20's, asked.

"It was—"

"A meteor! It crashed from the sky—"

"Fire ball—"

"Firebending—"

"I'll bet that Fire nation ship that came through here earlier had something to do with this—"

Sokka had heard all the theories. Some ridiculous, some possible. The one about the Fire Nation ship was the easiest to believe. _It was most likely Azula. Maybe Zuko. Hopefully there are no more firebenders here than them and this Kiara girl._ He thought.

Aang heard nothing from around him. He could only pray- to whatever gods and spirits were up there in the sky- that Toph was all right.

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

"Ty-Lee…? But I thought you were—"

"Being frozen to the ground by the fountain is the last thing I remember, but obviously not anymore. Now, what were you going to say there? It sounded like a confession to me." Ty-Lee smiled at Toph, wiggling her eyebrows up and down, sounding intrigued by the chance to get in on a secret.

"Huh?"

"You were talking to someone. Saying how you haven't done this...and you haven't done that yet...so don't die...and such." Ty-Lee spoke in a dramatic voice.

"What do you want Ty-Lee?" Toph asked, wiping away the traitorous tear and steeling her emotions once more.

"You are digging for the Avatar. Obviously, my job is to capture him. You've located him for me, so why don't you just step aside so I can find him and leave-wait. You were talking to the Avatar weren't you? You... you love the Avatar! Aw! That is so _sweet_!" Ty-Lee's smile appeared to have taken over her face completely. "Teenage romance! Wait… are you even in your teens yet?"

Toph jumped up to her feet. Her eyes narrowed. "I do not love him! And you seriously think I'm just going to step aside and let you capture him? You're _crazy!_"

Her emotions were spilling out of control. Love? When did she ever say she loved him? Was that really what she was going to say? Toph was confused and a little exasperated. Because of this, she was caught off guard when Ty-Lee jumped towards her. She gasped when she felt pressure on her neck. Her eyelids fluttered shut.

But not before she saw what had looked like Aang rushing towards her with a worried expression on his face.

_Worried? _

_Was that worried look...for me? _

_Why would he..._

_Care...? _

_**

* * *

**_

**A/N: If you are confused by any chance about the BOOMs, The two BOOMs were different BOOMs. The BOOM Aang got buried in and the BOOM Katara and Zuko saw were not the same BOOMs.**

**:D Now that that is covered. **

**Review?**


	15. Chapter 15: Tears

**A/N: I feel like I should dedicate this chapter to someone. Random reviewer…. Uh… Toph14! The Lucky winner! :D Go read her fanfics! I command you! :D**

**Rewrite: 7-7-1012:18am: Technically, it's barely the seventh… because it's barely after midnight… but anyway. Last rewrite of the night. Going to read another fanfic after this :o**

_**X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

**Chapter 15: Tears**

_Toph was confused and a little exasperated. Because of this, she was caught off guard when Ty-Lee jumped towards her. _

_She gasped when she felt pressure on her neck. Her eyelids fluttered shut. _

_But not before she saw what had looked like Aang rushing towards her with a worried expression on his face. _

'_Worried? Was that worried look...for me? Why would he...care...?' _

Toph had fallen unconscious.

This was what considerably worsened Aang's worry.

The group (Aang, Sokka, and Kiara) had just rounded a corner when the saw Ty-Lee jump to hit Toph's pressure point.

Aang rushed forwards toward Toph, stopping only to push Ty-Lee away with a ball of air. He knelt at Toph's side.

"Aang!" Sokka yelled to him. "You make sure she's all right. We'll keep Ty-Lee busy for a while." The Water Tribe boy grabbed his sword out of its sheath and stood ready to fight. Kiara walked around to the other side of Ty-Lee and merely stood there. Sokka narrowed his eyes.

"Are you going to help fight her? Or are you switching sides again? _Traitor_!" He accused.

Kiara rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I'm not a traitor. Will you get over it already?" She said back, a little angry.

"So you're going to fight with me?"

"I didn't say that, either."

"Whaaaa?" Now Sokka was confused beyond belief.

"I've told you before. I'm opposed to violence. Only in self-defense will I fight." She stated proudly.

Sokka stared at her exasperated. _She is such a lunatic..._ He glared at the Kiara.

Throughout the exchange, Ty-Lee had been standing silently in between the two. She cleared her throat to get their attention. "Well. Are you two done, or would you like me to leave so you can continue in peace?"

Sokka turned his glare on Ty-Lee. "You aren't going anywhere."

"Alright. Alright. Let's just get this over with then." And with that, she jumped towards Sokka to attack.

When she got to him, she started going for his pressure points as usual. He blocked some of them with his sword and dodged others. _This girl and her weird little dance. _She went for his shoulder, then his neck, his shoulder, his chest, and on and on in different places. _Just how many pressure points does a human being have? _Sokka started getting tired of dodging and swinging.

Ty-Lee didn't seem to be tired at all. She was still moving at the same quick pace. Lunging and dodging, lunging and dodging. She saw the fatigue beginning to set in on Sokka's face. She smiled to herself. _Too easy._

Sokka knew he was going to be in trouble soon if he didn't make a move. His limbs had started to get heavy, and he could feel himself moving slower. But Ty-Lee just kept coming. She was relentless.

The pressure of her hits began to move Sokka backwards. One step, two, another and another until- _CRAP!_ Sokka lost his footing and fell backwards onto his butt. Ty-Lee took the advantage and kicked his sword out of his hands. She picked it up and held it above her head. As she swung it down towards Sokka, one thought was running through his head.

_Goodbye, my beloved cabbages. _He closed his eyes, ready for the inevitable end.

*Clang*

_Clang? Since when am I made of metal?_ Sokka thought dumbly.

"He was right. You are a traitor. And you are useless—" It was Ty-Lee that had spoken.

"Is this really any way to treat the people that saved you from freezing earlier?" That shut Ty-Lee up. "You would have died from hypothermia! Nobody would have been able to free you but a water-bender. And aren't you just lucky we had the Avatar? You owe us your life. No, scratch that. You owe the Avatar your life."

Sokka opened his eyes and sat up. "K-Kiara? You... you saved me?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes. Yes I did." She stated matter-of-factly. Kiara was standing in between him and Ty-Lee, her sword pressed up against Sokka's, which was still in Ty-Lee's hands. Kiara suddenly spun her sword around in a circle, effectively knocking the sword out of Ty-Lee's hands. She looked into Ty-Lee's surprised eyes. "You really don't know how to grip a sword, do you?"

Sokka laughed.

"Shut up." Kiara turned her head towards him. "You don't know how to either."

Sokka stopped laughing and huffed. A frown was now evident on his face.

"You saved me from dying? But, you're the enemy. Why would you do that?" Ty-Lee asked hesitantly.

"Simple. You're not _my_ enemy. You've never done anything to me. And that means, in my eyes, you were merely a person that needed saving. And along that point, why are you after the Avatar? Why is he supposed to be our enemy?" Kiara asked her.

"Because Azula said—"

"Who cares what Azula says?" Kiara pressed.

"She's the _Princess_. And besides, she's a friend of mine."

"A friend? Well she definitely treats you like one..." Kiara spoke sarcastically, shaking her head in disbelief. "Has she ever once complimented you on something?"

Ty-Lee hesitated. "Y-Yes."

"And she _truly_ _meant_ it?"

"Yes— well..."

"Exactly my point. You may think she's your friend. But she thinks of you as nothing but a pawn in her little game. Come to the winning side, Ty-Lee. Because you know what the Fire Nation's doing is nothing but pure evil. Killing innocent people and hunting their only hope for peace." Kiara pressed on avidly.

Ty-Lee was silent. She looked like she was having a war with herself. Her emotions were contradicting. Unbelieving, mad, sad, and confused looks crossed over her face. It seemed as if she had finally come to a conclusion, and she seemed scared to say it. "But... but she'll _kill_ us. We'll be nothing but traitors in her eyes! And where would I go? It's not as if your little Avatar group would let me..._join_. I can't just leave like that."

Kiara thought for a few moments. "Alright. You have a point. But I'm staying with these guys. Maybe... maybe you could... hmm..." She was lost in thought for a few more minutes. "AH! I know! How about you stick with Azula, but tell her that the Avatar and I were killed."

"Are you _crazy_? That's suicide! When Azula finds out I'm lying, I'll be treated just like a traitor!"

"Please? I know it's a lot to ask... but. Would you just try? If she catches you, tell her that I set you up. Somehow." Kiara smiled sheepishly. The two girls looked at each other for a while before Ty-Lee directed her eyes towards the ground. Kiara lowered her sword.

"Fine."

Kiara smiled warmly at her. "Thank you. You won't regret doing this for us! I promise." She stepped up and hugged her. Ty-Lee widened her eyes before smiling herself and hugging Kiara back.

As they separated, Ty-Lee looked Kiara in the eyes once more, as if in reassurance, before turning around and walking away.

After she was out of ear shot, Sokka spoke. "You're good at convincing people. And you're really strong about that no violence thing, aren't you? Weird. Are you nauseous when you see blood or something?" Kiara glared at him. "Why did you save me, anyway? Is that why? Because me getting killed would have been too graphic and _violent _for you?"

Kiara extended a hand to help him back on his feet. He accepted it, with a frown, still skeptical.

He was pulled halfway up before she let go of his hand and he dropped to the ground once more. "_Hey_!" He yelled in anger.

"It's just to fun to make fun of you. That's why I didn't want her to kill you." Kiara started walking the other way, back towards Aang and Toph-who was now awake and leaning on Aang's shoulder.

"Yeah right. You're probably secretly in love with me or something." Sokka huffed.

Kiara was happy she was faced the other way. It would have been hard to explain the blush that covered her face to Sokka.

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

_They took one last glance at each other. Then they turned their opposite ways and walked. _

_Zuko paused and turned back to Katara. "And if you do find them, be careful. Azula's strong, as you know. And Raven is just as strong. I'm not 100% sure of her right now. So be careful, ok?" He yelled out to Katara. _

_She smiled. And without turning around, she yelled back. _

"_You too." _

Katara had no idea that this village was so large. She had been walking forever, and ever, and ever...and ever. She was tired. She was thirsty. She was hungry. And she was broke. She looked longingly at all of the food stands she passed. And she desperately wished she would somehow come across some sort of money to buy some food for herself.

She hadn't spotted and sign of Raven or Azula anywhere. No more burned buildings. The only flames she saw were those the villagers were using to cook _food_. Food. Food. FOOD.

As if to emphasize her point, her stomach grumbled loudly. She groaned along with it.

"Sounds like you're a little hungry, dear. How about I treat you to a nice bowl of soup?" Katara turned towards the voice. It came from a little old woman. She was standing in a door about five feet away from where Katara stood. She looked nice enough, with that big, old, sweet smile plastered on her face.

So Katara nodded. A little break from walking would be nice too.

The old woman waved her inside, then ushered her into a small dining room to sit at a little table. Katara waited patiently as the old woman walked into the kitchen to ladle some soup into two bowls. She came back and set one on the table in front of Katara and one for herself.

Katara sniffed her soup. _Oh, gosh... this smells delicious. Then again, I'm so hungry; I think anything would smell delicious. _Katara took one small bite, and then devoured the rest of it quickly. When she finished, she sat back in her chair, full. "Thank you so much, 'mam. The soup was wonderful."

"Oh, it's nothing. I made way too much for only one person, so I'm glad I saw you walking along." She smiled warmly at Katara before standing and picking up their bowls. While walking back into the kitchen, the old woman tripped a bit, and the soup fell out of her hands. It landed, getting the floor quite wet. "Oh...darn. There I go again, dropping things." She hustled into the kitchen to grab a towel, but froze as she walked back out.

She watched as Katara used her water bending to pick up the soup and direct it into the sink. Katara looked at the woman when she finished, and smiled sheepishly.

"A water- bender. My, my. You seem to be everywhere today."

"Everywhere?" Katara asked, confused.

"Another one of you came by here earlier, fighting a person whom I do believe was Princess Azula herself. The waterbending girl was not necessarily fighting, but she seemed to be dodging and putting out all of the fires that meddlesome Princess created." She pointed to a small, barely noticeable burn spot in the corner of her home. "Saved my house from becoming a pile of ashes, that waterbender did. Seems I have to thank your lot twice today." She smiled again.

"Did you see where they went?" Katara asked quickly.

"They seemed to be heading down towards the water. The river is down that way." The old woman pointed the direction Katara had originally been walking.

"Thank you so much, 'mam!" And with that, Katara rushed off that direction. Towards the water.

_**X-x-X-x-X-XX-x-x-XXX-x-x-XX-X-x-X-x-X**_

A little boy of roughly ten sits on the sandy beach. He stares out at the river in wonder and amazement. How could something non-living be so beautiful?

The sun glimmers off of the water as it sets for nighttime. It had finally started to cool down in the village without the sun beating down so hard anymore. The water looks like it has millions of crystals under its surface. And it is steady. No waves, no swimmers, no boats, no animals to break its surface. The entire image is peaceful.

Suddenly, a thin stream of it lifts high up out of the water and rushes towards the land on the opposite bank. It collides with an identical stream of fire, creating a fiasco of blue. It disappears soon enough, but only to be repeated again. And again.

Squinting his eyes, the boy leans forward slightly.

Two people are also visible on the shore. Their arms and hands mirror the movements of the fire and water as they move. The little boy thinks it looks as if they are controlling the elements.

Words are being spoken between the two people, but the little boy cannot hear them, for he is sitting on the opposite bank.

Blue explodes upwards, downwards, and right to left. It goes every which way, lighting up the almost complete darkness of night.

For a short period, the blue streaks stop. It is a pause in the light show. A small movement in the arms of one person is visible before a thin streak of light blue seems to come from the heavens. As it reaches the arms of the person, it changes directions, heading towards the other being.

Instead of creating an impact on the other, the light blue streak merely changes directions once more. It collides with an old structure. A shed perhaps? Nonetheless, the structure immediately becomes another wondrous light show. It bursts into blue color, the brightness leaping higher and higher before engulfing the whole structure in sapphire flame. It groans as it collapses to the sand.

The second being is seen as it collapses to the ground as well, but on its knees. A small shine is seen on the beings face. It falls off, hits the ground, and vanishes.

A tear? Tears? The little boy has seen enough of them to know what they are, and why they come. He worries for this being. Why is it crying? Why is it sad?

The other person, the one still standing, moves its arms once more. This time, the boy sees a large flash of blue. It appears in front of the kneeling being, blocking it from the little boy's sight.

Still worrying about the second being, the little boy stands, turns around, and runs through his village. As he runs, he yells.

"Help! Help, it's going to get hurt! Help it! Someone!"

Closing his eyes as tears begin streaming down his face, he runs into someone. It is an older girl with brown hair and kind blue eyes. She asks him what is wrong.

He tells her exactly what he saw. That the being across the water is going to get hurt if someone doesn't help it. He asks her if she will help it.

She nods and follows him to the water.

* * *

**A/N:That ending there was a little different then what I'm used to writing. Obviously. I'm iffy on it as well…Was it okay? Hope so.**

**Review? **


	16. Chapter 16: Grievances

Disclaimer: Simply put, I do not own Avatar. At all. Not one bit. Zilch. Zip. None. But I do own my OCs, Kiara and Raven!  
A/N: This is a loooong chapter. For my writing standards. Enjoy.

Rewrite: 7-7-102:14pm: Nothing much to fix except for some grammar and slight rewordings of things. This chapter and the next are two of my favorites :)

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

**Chapter 16: Grievances**

_Kiara extended a hand to help him to his feet. He accepted it, with a frown, still skeptical._

_He was pulled halfway up before she let go of his hand and he dropped to the ground once more. "HEY!" He yelled in anger._

"_It's just too fun to make fun of you. That's why I didn't want her to kill you." Kiara started walking the other way, back towards Aang and Toph-who was now awake and leaning on Aang's shoulder._

"_Yeah right. You're probably secretly in love with me or something." Sokka huffed._

_Kiara was happy she was faced the other way. It would have been hard to explain the blush that covered her face to Sokka._

Yeah. Definitely hard to explain the blush. Especially considering Kiara didn't have any idea why it showed up in the first place. Did she... like him? Like that? _No way... _She tried to convince herself. _I guess, though. My body just moved of its own accord. When I saw him in danger... seriously? I _do_ like him, don't I. Sheesh. Just my luck. I fall for the idiot._

Her brain stopped ranting when she reached the other two members of the 'group'. Aang was sitting down next to Toph, who was casually leaning on Aang's side. "Hey. How are you feeling, Toph?" She asked quietly.

"Fine. Just really tired, that's all." Her eyes blinked really slowly. Then she yawned.

Kiara smiled softly and turned her attention on Aang. "Think we're close to the others?" She asked the bald boy. "They can't be too far. This village isn't that big. Or at least... I don't think so." She frowned slightly.

"We should be close, I hope..." Aang's face deflated in worry.

_Is this kid like, in love with Sokka's sister or something? Sheesh. _She glanced at Toph, who was more than half-asleep again. _Poor girl. She just had to fall in love with the oblivious one..._

It was then that Sokka made it over to them. "Wake her up." He stated, pointing to Toph.

Her head had fallen to Aang's shoulder, making him jump a little. She was out. For a while.

"Why should we? Give her some time to rest, will ya? She just got knocked out." Kiara scolded him.

"We have to find my sister!"

"And... the other one too." Kiara finished in a question.

"Zuko." Aang answered for her.

"Right. Zuko." She said his name slowly, as if trying to remember where she had heard it before.

"I could care less for that stuck up Fire Nation Prince—" Sokka started.

"_Prince _Zuko?" Kiara yelled. "You're actually traveling with the _prince?_ Well why didn't ya tell me that before?"

"Didn't think it was a big deal..." Sokka replied truthfully.

"Seems there's a lot of things I didn't know about this little hero group you got going on here. Is there anything else important or semi-important I should know? Are there any deep dark secrets you're keeping from me?" Kiara asked, exasperated.

"For your information, we still don't trust you one hundred percent! Why are you getting so worked up over one little thing we forgot to mention?" Sokka was genuinely confused.

"Well, we're saving him from Azula! His sister! This makes the situation a lot more serious than I thought it would be! Azula will kill him the first chance she gets! I thought your friends had a chance, but never mind. Alone against Azula, Prince Zuko will be a goner! We have to find him _quick_!"

"No duh, we have to find them. But are you forgetting he's not alone? My sister is with him as well."

"Who? Oh, right..." Kiara smiled sheepishly. "Of course. How could I forget your sister?" She laughed nervously.

"You _forgot_ her! Didn't you?" Sokka yelled angrily.

"Sorry... it's just that Prince Zuko is_ so_ cute—"

Sokka watched Kiara's face as it went all dreamy-like. "You have got to be kidding me."

"-and that scar makes him look _so_ tough—"

"Would you stop... please?" Sokka looked mortified.

"Oh... What's wrong? Jealous?" Kiara broke off from her state and smiled mischievously at Sokka.

Sokka sputtered. "N-no... jealous? Preposterous. Why would I be jealous?"

"Right." Kiara didn't look convinced. She sat down next to Aang and Toph- who was still asleep. "She better wake up soon..." She spoke again, looking at Toph.

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-x-XXX-x-x-X-x-x-XXX-x-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

Katara had just turned a corner when the little boy had run into her. She couldn't blame him, though. The coming night was getting darker and darker. She had barely seen him as well. Not to mention the tears in his eyes must have partially blinded his vision as well.

She had been searching for the river for some time. She had gotten lucky when the small child met up with her. He happened to be leading her to the river right now.

Katara had listened to his story about the two people across the water. How the water and fire seemed to be fighting for them. It sounded an awful lot like bending to her, and she wanted to see if perhaps it really was Raven and Azula the boy had found.

And the boy had also said that one of the people had started crying. That he had seen tears on its face. Also, that it had fallen to the ground. The little boy was seriously worried for this person, even though from the sound of it he had no idea who they were.

_Do children care about everything? Anything? No matter what or who they are. Aw, the innocence of a child._

Katara followed the little boy- who had picked up the pace and was now running- all the way to the river.

Upon arriving, Katara immediately noticed something was amiss. Part of the other shore was lit up with blue fire. So much of it, she couldn't see anything else on the sand near it.

She ushered the little boy away, assuring him that she would save the person on the other side of the river. She only hoped she wouldn't turn out to be a liar. Silently hoping as well, that the person that needed saving was Azula- so she wouldn't have any trouble- Katara thought of a way to cross the water.

She could make a sheet of ice to walk on, but that may give her away if someone spotted her. Who knew if Azula had any spies or soldiers about to watch over her? And it was possible that Azula herself could spot her on her way across.

Katara's only other way would be to walk underneath the water as she had done in Serpent's Pass. But that would take too long!

She decided to take her chances with the ice sheet.

With a quick, flowing movement of her arms, the surface of the river became a thin sheet of ice that stretched halfway to the other shore. She ran across it quickly, and then made another walkway to the opposite shoreline.

She stepped onto the sand. She was a ways away from the fight and the fire, but from this angle, she could see it all. And she could see that the one on the ground was not Azula. Azula happened to be looming over the other girl, hands ablaze in blue-ish flame.

Raven looked as if she had given up. She was kneeling on the ground in front of Azula, hands on the sand and head faced down. It seemed to Katara that Raven was... sad. She recalled the little boy saying something about tears. He must have been talking about Raven.

Katara heard Azula begin to talk. "He forbade you from using it, didn't he? Because he didn't want you to become a prisoner. If the Fire Lord knew about your Water bending, you would have been imprisoned... isn't that right? What a sweet gesture. But your father can't save you now. You know why?"

Raven's face scrunched up in a deep scowl. She glared up at Azula, moving only her eyes.

"That's right... because he's _**dead**_!" Azula laughed her evil laugh – the one Katara wanted to call a cackle. "And it's entirely your fault. And you know that."

Raven slowly shook her head. Her glare disappeared as a tear rolled down her cheek. She stared blankly at the ground once more.

Azula lifted her hand, still blazing with blue fire, and spoke again. "Let me put you out of your self-induced misery."

As her hand descended, Katara yelled out, "Do something!"

She succeeded in distracting Azula's attention from Raven for a moment. The moment was just enough for Raven to sweep her legs around, knocking Azula's feet off the ground and landing her on her butt in the sand.

Raven stood up slowly. Azula stood up as well. Raven and Katara faced each other, Azula in between them. Azula looked from one to the other again and again, as if waiting for one of them to make a move against her.

Katara stayed put, but she spoke first. "Raven, shoot fire into the air, so Zuko will know where we are."

Before Raven could comply, Azula spoke, "Your father was a disgrace to the Fire-Nation. Even you deserved better than him..." She looked to Raven's shocked and infuriated face. "I tell you what. I'll give you second chance because, unlike your father, you show some potential to be a great help for the Fire Nation. Come back to the ship with me. We'll go back to the Fire Nation. You've always wanted to go back home, right?"

Raven stared at her for a minute in silence.

She seemed to be pondering whether or not to accept the offer Azula had made. Katara began to fear Raven's decision, as the older girl was taking a while to decide. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she spoke. "What's the catch, Azula?"

"Catch?" Azula asked innocently. The tone didn't fit her, obviously fake.

"Yes, the catch. You wouldn't just let me come back. You don't forgive people like that. What's the first thing you'd make me do? To _prove_ myself to you." She stared hard at Azula as she waited for a reply.

Azula huffed. "You know me pretty well, don't you? Fine. First thing?" She thought for a moment. "I'd have you kill, and I mean really kill this time, little waterbender girl over there." She nodded her head indicating Katara.

Katara's eyes widened. _Oh my. This is not good. I'm in trouble here._

_**x-X-x-X-x-x-XXX-x-X-x-XXX-x-x-X-x-X-x**_

They had been sitting for about five minutes now. In silence. Toph was still out cold. She looked as though she did not intend to wake up for days. The others only hoped she'd wake up sooner.

The silence was not as awkward as someone would think. It was actually quite peaceful. Silence was not something the group was used to. They always had to run and fight and then run again, too much to really get any silence. So the silence was welcomed for the moment, peaceful.

It was after these five minutes that someone came up out of the shadows nearby, approaching them once again.

"I forgot to tell you something." The girl spoke. "And it might be important soon. So I think I should tell you."

Kiara stood. "What is it Ty-Lee?"

"It's about that other girl. Raven. She was the one who froze me to the ground back there. I _think_ she's on your side...So I would hear her out first before attacking or what not."

"Alright, thanks. I'm not sure either. But I think she'll side with us in the end. She didn't seem to be a big fan of the Princess." Kiara thought back to when she first met Raven, and the sarcastic remarks she had fired at Azula. She smiled.

Ty-Lee nodded and made to turn around. But she caught sight of Toph leaning, asleep on Aang's shoulder. "Aw! Did she confess her feelings?"

All three stared at Ty-Lee in confusion. It was silent for a few more minutes before someone spoke.

"What are you talking about?" Aang was brave enough to ask.

"Her love for you! She's in love with the Avatar! She told me so!"

_**XXX-xxx-XXX-xxx-X-x-X-xXx-X-x-X-xxx-XXX-xxx-XXX**_

Katara stood still like a statue. She watched anxiously as Raven's eyes swept over her figure. Her eyes started at her feet, and then moved upwards until locking eyes with Katara. Her eyes were hard, no emotion, cold.

They almost made Katara shiver. Almost.

But there was something else in those mismatched eyes that glittered quickly before disappearing. Almost, like she was begging Katara to understand something. But before Katara could get a good enough look, Raven turned her head back to Azula.

"Alright."

Katara was scared, that was for sure. But that something she had seen in Raven's eyes was nagging at her head. It was telling her not to be afraid. It was trying to calm her, tell her that everything would be okay. Katara tried, in return, to push that thought away. She tried to convince herself that she had been seeing things. Just seeing things in Raven's eyes. That Raven hadn't meant anything by the emotion that had flickered there. Because her eyes were now back to that cold, emotionless state. And there wasn't even a hint of sympathy or regret. Katara needed on focus on defending herself.

Raven's arms rose up, prepared to fight. The fire, a much lighter blue than Azula's, appeared on her hands.

Katara was still frozen. Her thoughts were having a war, and her body was therefore left motionless. Her eyes still locked onto Raven's own. And because they were still locked, she happened to see the quick glance Raven took to the sky.

Raven's eyes flickered to the sky, then back to Katara once more. When they returned, they had that look in them again. And this time Katara thought she understood.

The look of comprehension on Katara's face was enough for Raven. She moved her arm, shooting a stream of fire towards Katara. But it moved slowly towards her. More like a warning than an all-out attack.

Katara knew what she had to do. She knew what Raven had been trying to get her to understand.

As the fire came close enough to touch, Katara quickly deflected it with her waterbending- forcing it up into the sky.

_Come on Zuko, see it!_

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-XX-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

At that precise moment, Aang's eyes could have been compared to dinner plates.

Sokka just looked confused.

Kiara had a knowing look on her face, directed towards Toph and Aang.

"It's _true_...!" Ty-Lee sang out the last word. "I couldn't believe it at first, but thinking about it now, I believe it totally!"

Kiara cleared her throat. "It... was sort of obvious... you know." She mumbled.

"Well anyways. I should get going. Big important job to do, you know! Bye-Bye!" Ty-Lee skipped off in the direction from whence she came.

"She was joking. Right?" Aang's quiet whisper could barely be heard.

Kiara looked over at him. "No... I don't believe she was." She spoke softly. Almost as softly as Aang had spoken.

Aang looked over at Toph's head, which was lying gently on his shoulder. His face showed he was deep in thought. "But..." His voice trailed off. "She always yells at me... and she's always teasing me about something... And... And..." His voice failed him again as he tried to deny the facts.

"There is an old saying I heard once. It says that people usually tease the most the people they care about the most. That is... people who are afraid of admitting how much they care." Kiara told him.

"Why would she be afraid to tell me?"

"Have you seen yourself? You fawn over Sokka's sister like a lovesick fool." Aang's eyes widened in surprise. "It's true. And you know it. She was probably afraid of being rejected or pushed aside even more."

Aang opened and closed his mouth a few times, obviously trying to say something in return to defend himself. He only resulted in making himself look like a gaping fish.

Saving himself the humiliation of being compared to a finned creature, he glanced back over at Toph. She was stirring. "Well maybe I... maybe I don't..."

Toph picked her head up and fluttered her eyes a bit until they were open, effectively shutting Aang up. She glanced around at everyone else.

"What is everyone standing around for? Aren't we supposed to be looking for Katara and Zuko?" She paused. "And why is everyone staring at me like that?" When nobody answered her, Toph shrugged and stood. She walked forwards, heading past the pile of rubble that she had been sitting on. "Come on guys! We haven't checked by the water, so let's go there first."

Everyone stood and ran to catch up. Aang stayed walking behind them a bit, looking in confusion and frustration at Toph's back.

_**X-x-XX-xx-X-x-XX-xx-xx-XX-x-X-xx-XX-x-X**_

"Red hair?"

"For the fifth time, no. She has _black_ hair. Both of them do."

"Oh. Okay then. Um..." The speaker trailed off, putting his finger to his overgrown head and scratching it in thought. He was large in size, and towered over the other speaker so much the other had to crane his neck upwards at an odd angle just to look him in the eye. He was wearing cropped, light-blue jeans and a ragged white shirt. "I remember seeing a girl. She was fighting with another girl..." He trailed off again.

'_This guy is as dumb as he looks.' _The other man was starting to get very impatient. "Yes...? And _where_ did they _go_?" He asked with malice. _'The part that scares me is that he looks about my age. Yet he makes me feel like I'm the shortest person alive. Imagine how Toph or Aang would feel... yeesh.' _

The tall man looked down at the other, with a look on his face that portrayed his confusion. He looked as though he was just noticing the other man for the first time. "Huh?" He mumbled.

"_**Forget it!**_" The other one lost his temper. He spun around and stomped off in the other direction.

"Hey! Mister! You forgot to pay!" The tall man yelled at his retreating figure.

Zuko whipped back around. "Your food was disgusting! I shouldn't have to pay!" Seeing the torn look on the other man's face- and feeling very proud of the fact that he was the one who put it there- he turned back and continued with his search.

He was having very little luck in the searching department. He had asked god knows how many people, and the answers always led him on a wild goose chase. He never seemed to be able to catch up to the ones he was looking for.

The worry he felt for Raven- who might very well be fighting Azula- was piled on top of the worry he was somehow feeling for Katara. He kept telling himself that Raven would be on their side if Katara happened to get to her before him. That Raven wouldn't just laugh at her before burning her to a crisp and laughing again at the pile of ash left behind.

He really needed to stop thinking of _that_ scenario in particular.

He tried to convince himself that Raven wouldn't do something like that. That she was civilized enough not to laugh at a pile of ash. But, what was he thinking? Katara was strong enough not to be turned into a pile of ash in the first place. She would be able to hold off Raven long enough for him to get to her and save her.

But a sudden twinge of fear overtook him as he remembered something else. Azula. Azula was with Raven. Katara couldn't possibly hold them both back at once! Impossible! With his newfound adrenaline, he picked up his searching pace- now jogging instead of walking leisurely.

He looked around for a while, before he started to get genuinely tired. He stopped at a small house nearby and knocked on the door, silently hoping that this person would have some real information for him. The person that answered the door looked highly unlikely to have any information for him though.

It happened to be a small child. About ten years old. He looked up at Zuko blankly, silent.

Suddenly self-conscious for some reason, Zuko spoke quickly. "Is your mom or dad home, little boy?"

But the little boy ignored him, simply staring at the side of his face. He had a surprised sort of 'awe' look on his face. He slowly lifted his hand, and pointed at the spot he was staring at. A whispered 'whoa' could be heard coming out of his mouth.

With a jolt of understanding, Zuko noticed that the boy wasn't looking at him, but straight past him and over his shoulder at something in the distance. When Zuko turned to look as well, his eyes widened. His feet took off immediately, racing towards the sight of blue-white flames he had just seen in the sky.

_Out of all the people in this village,_ He thought, _I get the best information from a little boy. How ironic._

_**X—x-X—x-X—x-XX—xx-XXX-xx—XX-x—X-x—X-x—X**_

Azula, completely oblivious to what had really just happened, watched the fire stream into the sky with a wicked form of delight in her eyes. If she had known the real reason behind Raven's 'attack', she might have been furious. But because of her big-headedness, it didn't occur to her. All she could think about was the fact that Raven was back on her side. And that the little waterbender girl would soon be out of the way for good. She smiled triumphantly to herself and proceeded to watch the action in front of her.

But she was disappointed and surprised to see that Raven had turned to face her. A look of determination was plastered on her face as well, stating that she would follow through with whatever she was planning on doing. No matter what. But Azula saw through the charade. She saw through it, right down to the sadness and vulnerability inside the girl had tried to hide within herself. Azula knew the girl's weakness, she knew the girls past. She knew the girl's family.

But she waited for Raven to make the first move. She wasn't disappointed this time.

The fire shot out of her hands like crazy, enveloping the area Azula had just been standing on in great, bursting flames. She had expected that. What she hadn't expected were the ice daggers that shot at her mid-air form. Raven had been expecting her to jump, and had sent them to meet her in the air. She didn't have time to dodge them all effectively. One scratched her arm badly, and another dug into her shin as she landed, the pain making her collapse to her knees.

Raven began approaching her. Azula had one chance to distract her. So she used the girl's weakness. Or she _would_ have if someone hadn't interrupted her beforehand.

"Azula!" It was Ty-Lee, and she had a large smile on her face. "Guess what! Guess what! I have good news!" She sang out loud, obviously disregarding the negative atmosphere. Everyone turned to look at her.

"Well...?" Azula drawled out emotionlessly.

Ty-Lee took a deep breath before yelling out loud. "The Avatar's _dead_! I mean, so is Kiara, but she we all lose a few soldiers. We can go, now, right?" She looked excitedly at Azula, smiling big.

Azula stared in disbelief for a moment before deciding that she could trust Ty-Lee. She stood shakily on her still-hurt leg. "Excellent."

Katara was frozen. Her mind was still trying to effectively process what Ty-Lee had just said. She heard what had been said, but instead of settling on her brain like most other things, this bit of information decided to jump around and around like it was on a trampoline, refusing to settle down and get processed. Katara just merely wouldn't understand. It couldn't be true. If Aang was dead, than what about the others? She fell to her knees, the tears starting to fall, unnoticed by Katara herself.

Raven merely stood still. She met Ty-Lee's eyes for a moment. They seemed regretful, sorry, and as if they were begging Raven to understand something. Sort of like the look she had given Katara earlier. "So you're leaving now?" She asked quietly.

Azula nodded her head. "We could get rid of you now, but I'm too happy to fight _you _at the moment." She had spoken the word 'you' as if Raven was the most disgusting creature on earth.

But Raven disregarded the insult, turned to face Katara, and began walking towards her. "Then go and be on your merry, joyful way then. If you don't feel like fighting then I suppose I could beat you some other time. Sometime on your new schedule, right? Be sure to call me up."

Azula scowled and bent down to remove the ice dagger that was still lodged in her leg. She pulled it out with a small noise of pain. Finally grasping the whole of it in her hand, she straightened and threw it at Raven's feet. It clattered next to her, effectively stopping Raven from walking.

"It's too bad, really. If he was alive right now, I'm sure he'd have a lot to say about you using your waterbending in public. Especially attacking royalty. Going against his wishes like that." She paused and looked at Raven's face. She was still facing the other way. But her fist was tightened.

"You're disgracing him when you do that aren't you?"

"_**SHUT. UP!**_" Raven spoke the two words with such force, it almost caught Azula off guard. She had expected tears, but not that much anger. So when Raven whipped around to face her, the tears cascading down her face were no surprise, but the sudden feeling of helplessness was.

Azula felt frozen in place. She couldn't move a muscle, not even a fingertip. She stared at Raven in horror and snarled out a question. "_What are you doing to me_?" She could move her mouth at least. And her eyes could wander a bit.

Raven was in a bending position, but not one familiar to Azula. _Waterbending then. _She thought. But that wouldn't explain the fact that she couldn't move at all. Her eyes maneuvered themselves to look at Ty-Lee, but she was only looking on at the scene in confusion.

The answer to Azula's question did not come from Raven. It came from a small, timid sounding voice behind Raven. And Katara spoke only one word. But it was with a twinge of horror. "Blood-bending."

"Blood-bending...?" Azula whispered to herself, unfamiliar with the term. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. She looked to Raven for an explanation, but got none. Annoyed, she spoke again. "Ty-Lee, do something! Kill this pathetic excuse of a firebender! She's just like her father! A traitor!"

Raven _growled_. Her glare intensified. She made a small movement with her arms, and somehow, the small change made the bending stance look more like fire bending. Azula sure felt a change.

Azula screamed.

Her body felt as though it was on fire, burning from the inside out. It felt as though her blood had turned into fire, bringing the heat throughout her whole body. It started at her fingertips and her toes. Then the fire spread from there upwards and inwards, up her legs and through her arms. It encased every nerve. It came from the top of her head down, blinding her vision, and making her throat feel as though she had just eaten something worse than jalapenos. Making her nose feel as though she had just inhaled gallons upon gallons of salt water. The fire was heading towards someplace. It was all heading towards her heart.

Azula screamed again, and again. Soon, her throat gave out on her, and she could no longer make any sound. Her mouth stayed open though, as if she was still screaming.

Ty-Lee stood unmoving. She was torn between helping the Princess, or just sitting back and watching her die. Her mind was filled with conflicting emotions. Besides, she was in too much shock to move at all anyway.

Katara was in shock as well. She had known the Blood-bending stance, but this was different. What was this? Raven's position was barely any different, but the effect on her opponent had changed drastically. Not only was the bending preventing Azula from moving, but it was also, obviously, causing her very much pain. As much as Katara was appalled, horrified, frightened, and-she felt ashamed to say- amazed and interested, she was too shocked to stop Raven.

Azula's savior was the most unlikely person.

Zuko had appeared out of nowhere. Obviously sneaking in as everyone had been distracted by Raven's attack. After taking one look at the situation, he raced up to Raven and grabbed her arms, moving them out of place, and stopping the bending. "Raven. Stop." He ushered into her ear, gently.

Raven's glare disappeared as soon as she heard Zuko's worried and saddened voice. The tears, which had ceased to stop from the beginning, kept flowing. Zuko reached up and wiped them away gently. Raven collapsed in his arms, giving way to more tears as she started crying openly into his chest. Zuko just held her tightly.

The fire had disappeared as quickly as it had come. Azula gasped for breath as she collapsed on the ground in front of her. One minute longer, she feared, and the fire would have reached her heart. She was sure of it. She bit back a comment that had wanted to make its way out of her mouth, because the pain to speak was horrid. The fire was gone, but her throat felt the aftermath of the constant screaming instead. So, she just stood up shakily, which almost resulted in collapsing again, turned around, and walked in the other direction towards her ship. Ty-Lee was following behind warily.

Katara just looked on in dizzy confusion. The tears, she noticed faintly, had not stopped coming down her face. The reason for the tears came crashing back into her mind, and she yelled in agony.

Zuko, hearing her yell, looked sharply up to her in concern. "Katara, are you hurt?" He asked her in alarm.

"A-Aang... Ty-Lee... she said... she said..." Katara couldn't talk right.

"Ty-Lee said what about me?" A small voice came from behind them all. The opposite direction Azula had left. "Katara? What's wrong with you?"

Katara whirled around. Her eyes met Aang's and she sagged in relief. She jumped up and ran to him, flinging her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. "Aang! She said... she said you were dead! I thought... I thought you were..." She trailed off and opted to bury her face in his shoulder instead.

"Dead? Why would she say that?"

"I could probably explain that bit." Kiara said.

"Who is that?" Katara asked out loud.

But Toph spoke in reply. "Who is that?" She asked, pointing at the still crumpled form of Raven in Zuko's arms. "And why is _she_ bawling her eyes out?"

"I believe some introductions are in order." Aang said to everyone.

* * *

**A/N: Longer chapters. Woo. And everyone is finally together. No more Azula…for a while. The beginning of Zuko's part is was probably one of my favorite parts to write in the entire story so far ^-^**

**On another note, I propose reviews should be mandatory... JK. :D  
because they sure are nice for the author. *****Hint Hint*******

**Review?**


	17. Chapter 17: First Impressions

**A/N: Everyone finally meets everyone! Yay! Enjoy!**

**Rewrite: 7-7-102:28pm: Nothing much at all to do in this one. Grammar. Did I never use spell check when I wrote this originally? **

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

**Chapter 17: First Impressions**

"Well, I'm Kiara." She stepped forward and held her hand out, meaning to shake Katara's own.

Instead of reaching out her hand in response, Katara only stared at Kiara's hand. "I mean who are you, as in can we trust you?" She looked skeptically into Kiara's eyes.

Aang responded for her. "Yes. We can trust her Katara. She not only saved Sokka's life, but," Aang paused and leaned in excitedly to whisper in Katara's ear. "She's an airbender! Can you believe it?"

After Katara's mild shock wore off, she looked back to Kiara disbelievingly. "Right. And _I_ am a firebender. She doesn't even have the arrows like you do, Aang. I thought all air benders had the arrows. Explain that one for me."

Aang was about to start talking, but Kiara held up a hand to stop him. "As for the arrows, even I don't know, alright? For as long as I can remember, I never even got them. But I can airbend." And to prove it, she created a small ball of air in her palm. "Is that proof enough for you?"

It apparently was, for it effectively shut Katara up about the matter. Or maybe it was the large bear hug Sokka had pulled her into that kept her from speaking any further.

"Katara, are you alright? Did Zuko do anything to hurt you? Or Azula? Or that other girl...? Because I'll kill them if they laid a finger on you!" He sounded exactly like a worried older brother should sound. Protective... and well, worried.

"I'm alright Sokka. Seriously. Get off already" Katara tried to reassure her brother with a pat on the back.

Kiara smiled softly at the display in front of her. "Well then, you must be Katara. Sokka's little sister. I've heard a bit about you already. You're lucky to have such a caring brother, you know."

"Right..." Katara drawled on as Sokka blushed faintly.

"I think we should get back to Appa and Momo." Aang interrupted. "We can do introductions and explanations when we get to where we are staying." He looked nervously around the group. They were all staring at him as if he had just grown an extra head.

"Why are you in such a rush, Aang?" Sokka wondered.

"Well... I think we've caused a lot of commotion. You know, running around, asking questions, fighting each other, and we've destroyed a few buildings thanks to some firebending." He threw a pointed look at Zuko and the girl who was still resting by his side. "So I think we should lay low for a little while. Besides, we don't want anyone to get suspicious and find out who we really are."

"Aang's got a point. We should go to the house. We'll introduce ourselves and ask questions when we get there."

Everyone turned his or her head to Zuko, who had just spoken. His face was serious, and his voice held a tone of finality in it that nobody felt like challenging at the time.

Everyone's eyes then gravitated towards the figure standing next to, and a bit behind Zuko. The girl's black hair was messy, sticking up every which way. It was even a bit singed, although nobody could tell right away because of the dark color of her hair. Her face was red and still held traces of sorrow from the previous crying. Zuko, it seemed, had managed to cheer her up a bit to the point where she had a small smile on her face.

But all of those details became minor as the group's gaze almost immediately rested on her eyes. Her hair had been pushed out of her face, and the result was her eyes were both visible. They were slightly widened, taking in all of the other people around her. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks from not only the intense gaze of the others, but from the embarrassment of remembering the fact that she had just cried her eyes out in front of all these strangers. Talk about a first impression. She frowned a bit.

"Whoa." Sokka was the only one to speak. "Your eyes... are... like..." He paused for a moment as if thinking of the right word to describe them. "_Multicolored_!"

Raven's slight frown deepened into a scowl. She rolled her eyes before looking at him. "Very original." She drawled.

Sokka carried on as if she hadn't spoken at all. "That's... so... COOL!"

Raven looked to Zuko. "And you hang out with these people?" She asked, skeptical.

He smiled wryly. "I didn't say they all had a genius IQ. And I didn't say I liked them all."

"Hey!" Sokka yelled angrily at him.

Raven just laughed. Zuko smile turned into a real one as he heard the sound.

Katara saw the display in front of her. She saw the friendly exchange between Zuko and Raven. She saw the smile Zuko had on his face after Raven laughed. She didn't know why it bothered her. But it did. It bothered her a lot. And that made her angry.

"Are we going or what?" She growled out, a little more aggressively than she meant to.

Everyone looked back at her.

"Well." She suddenly got a bit nervous as everyone's eyes were now on her. "You said we were going to go back to the house before any introductions or questions, so let's go." After deducting that everyone was staying silent, Katara took it upon herself to lead with example. So she turned around and walked across the river, creating an ice sheet like before to walk over.

"What's up with her?" Raven asked aloud, staring at the Katara's back in annoyance.

"She gets moody. She'll warm up to you. Sometime." Sokka tried to explain her sister.

"Well I hope she does warm up. She's cold as an iceberg at the moment, it seems. For some reason. I know I didn't do anything to her." Raven shrugged. "Shall we follow her?"

"Yeah, we should. She's too stubborn to admit she has no idea where the house is from here. She'll just get lost if we don't follow her." Sokka laughed at bit before quieting down. "But _I_ will admit that _I_ have no idea where it is either."

Everyone but Zuko nodded his or her head in agreement. "Alright, alright. I guess it's up to me then." And with that, Zuko led the way back through the village to the house, meeting up with an angry, embarrassed Katara along the way.

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

Toph had seen the way Aang greeted Katara when they finally found her. And it wasn't what she had expected to see.

She had expected a worrywart Aang to rush up to Katara and smother her with love and unbridled...well...worry. And she expected Katara to just brush off his worry like an annoying, pestering fly as she always did. The usual.

But it was the exact opposite.

Aang hadn't even seemed relieved to see Katara. It was as if there was nothing wrong in the first place. When they arrived on the scene, Katara had been babbling something about Ty-Lee and Aang. And Aang, instead of ignoring what she had said and rushing up to smother her, merely asked, 'Ty-Lee said what about me?'

And then Katara had gotten up and started crying into Aang's shoulder and squeezing the life out of him. She pulled him so close; Toph thought Katara was going to choke him to death. Normally, Aang would have taken advantage of this and hugged her back with all he had. But he just stood there and asked more about what Ty-Lee had said.

What had gotten into him?

Had she woken up in some glorious alternate universe where Aang no longer cared about Katara? Had she gone to heaven? Would he recognize her now? In this place? Would he recognize that she loved him more than Katara ever would?

Wait. Love him? Where did that come from? Ty-Lee had really messed with her mind back there. She didn't love Aang. She just... really, strongly cared for the boy. That was all.

Oh, forget that nonsense. She loved him.

It felt good to finally say it. To admit it to herself. Right when she said those three words, a strange weight lifted off of her shoulders. She felt lighter, better, and more confident in a way.

But would she tell Aang? When? Maybe he really had gotten over Katara. But it had only been an hour since he last babbled about having to save her. How did that change so quickly? It seemed to have happened while she was sleeping.

Oh, lord.

She didn't say anything while she was sleeping did she? She didn't sleep talk the fact that she loved him did she? NO! She had been leaning on his shoulder, on his side. If she had said anything, he would have heard her, no doubt about it. This was a tragedy. A crisis.

Talking in her sleep. And he was mortified. That would explain the fact that Aang was walking so far away from her.

But he wasn't walking close to Katara either. Sleep talking wouldn't explain the sudden lack of concern for Katara.

In fact, Aang was walking in the front next to Kiara. They seemed to be engaged in a conversation of some sorts. Probably about Air bending. Zuko and the other girl were walking right behind them, also engaged in a small, quiet conversation of their own. It was whispered just enough so that Toph couldn't hear. It was obviously a private conversation. Maybe that was what was ticking Katara off? The Water-bender girl was walking with Sokka, right behind Toph. But she had been brooding and glaring at the girl's (Raven, was it?) back for quite a while now.

Too many things were going on at the moment. Toph had a lot of questions about what had happened, what was happening right now, and what they were all going to do in the future.

And Toph was going to find out.

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

"And here it is. The house." Zuko stated as he stopped in front of said building.

"Ooo! It's lovely!" Kiara smiled at the large house in front of her. "It seems big enough for us all! Come on! Let's go inside and check it out!" She turned towards the group. Seeing their exasperated expressions, she sighed.

She settled for grabbing Sokka's hand and yanking him through the front door. Giggling as Sokka sputtered and protested.

Aang, Zuko, and Toph went through after the other two, laughing at their antics.

That left Katara and Raven standing out at the front. Raven looked towards Katara, who seemed to be brooding over something.

"So. Are you going to introduce yourself, or are you going to make me guess your name?" Raven started.

"Katara." Her tone was crisp and almost monotone.

Not affected by the harsh tone of her voice, Raven asked again. "And you're a waterbender, huh?"

"And you're a waterbender, and a firebender." Katara didn't ask, but merely stated dryly.

Raven narrowed her eyes at the tone of Katara's voice. It sounded accusing. "That's true."

"But you're from the Fire Nation?" She sounded disbelieving now.

"Originally, no. But I did grow up there."

"What do you mean, originally?" Katara pushed, seemingly getting madder with every word.

"I'm sure you can wait till I can explain this to everyone at the same time." Raven growled out. She was getting frustrated and annoyed at Katara's hostility. "I don't really feel like saying it more than once." She finished.

Katara frowned. "Fine." And with that said, she walked into the house, leaving Raven to stand on the front porch alone. Raven shook her head in exasperation. She stood there for a few minutes in the silence, trying to calm down and relax a bit from the day's activities.

"Getting on your nerves already, is she?" Said a voice from the doorway.

Recognizing the voice, she answered. "A little bit. She's a stubborn brat, which I can tell. And I don't think she likes me, for whatever reason."

"Aw...She probably just doesn't trust you. She still threatens me every once and a while." At this, Raven raised an eyebrow. "It took her a few days to even adapt to me being an ally instead of an enemy. Then again, I did chase them non-stop for quite a long time."

"After the Avatar, right? Why exactly did you start to go after him? What happened to you after I left home?" Raven asked in concern.

Zuko sighed. "I'll tell you later. For now, just come find a room or something. They're going quick." He smiled softly at her.

"Alright, I suppose." She moved to walk in the door, but Zuko quickly blocked her way and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm glad you're back, Raven." He whispered into her ear.

She wrapped her arms around his torso in return, setting her head on his chest. "Yeah, me too."

After a bit, they pulled away. Zuko went into another room as Raven walked upstairs to the bedrooms.

A pair of dark blue eyes came out from the shadows of another room. She was confused. And sad, and even angry too. This girl Raven had come out of nowhere. She had connections to Zuko that seemed to be deep, and they seemed to be close friends, maybe more.

Hopefully not more, Katara thought.

They better not be more.

* * *

**A/N: All right. This chapter was a little short, but the next one will be quite a bit longer, because it explains a lot about Raven and Zuko's past together. Questions will be answered! Jealousy will make itself apparent to everyone! Rivalries will grow! And love will prevail! **

**Ha-ha... okay, I might have gone a bit overboard there. But anyways, Hope you liked the chapter! **

**Review?**


	18. Chapter 18: While I Was Away

**A/N: It's official. Plot bunnies annoy the heck out of my brain. *Growls*  
I hate them, but I love them at the same time, ya know? They come up with wonderful ideas (Most of the time). But it's just not cool when I'm in the middle of creating this chapter, and then the idea pops out of the middle of nowhere and distracts me from my writing. And it's even worse when the idea is for a completely different story. For a completely different fandom. And don't worry, "Lost, But Never Forgotten"...will not be forgotten ^-^ I won't let the other story get in the way of the schedule for this one. Although this chapter is a little bit late... *****Sheepish smile*******

**Rewrite: 7-7-102:36pm: Well ^that story up there that I was taking about…. Is still being put on hold. After the sequel… maybe. Almost nothing to rewrite in **_**this**_** chapter. I loved writing it, though.**

**But you people didn't come here to hear me babble. So without further ado, I present to you-**

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

**Chapter 18: While I was Away**

It was now dark. Another day had passed by and it was now dark outside, night falling quickly on the island. A few stars shone overhead, but a few clouds blocked out most of their light.

The members of the little group had all chosen their rooms, had all eaten their choice of food (however limited the choices were), and some had taken a brief nap. At the moment it seemed, they all happened to be gravitating towards the beach outside in front of the house.

Zuko had gotten there first. He had managed to start a small fire in a dugout in the sand. He had come outside to clear his mind and be alone, but it didn't work out the way he had hoped it to. Eventually, he was surrounded by everyone else. Except Raven and Kiara, who were still back at the house, he supposed.

Sokka had broken the silence. The peaceful silence Zuko had previously been enjoying.

"So what are we gonna do?"

Nobody answered him at first. The importance of the situation the question imposed had finally landed on their shoulders. And it was weighing them all down. Especially Aang, who spoke quietly.

"I don't know. The comet is coming soon. Too soon. I've only now started Fire bending, and my Earth-bending hasn't been perfected yet. How am I supposed to defeat the Fire Lord?" He whispered, his voice strained and laced with worry.

"Well. That's true. But it's not really what I meant when I said 'what are we going to do'. I meant what are we gonna do about the other two?"

"What do you mean, what are we gonna do, Sokka? I think by now we can say that they aren't straight out enemies. They are willingly going to fight on our side. Who are we to say no?" Toph interjected.

"But we don't know a thing about 'em! How are we supposed to trust them, huh?" Sokka pushed.

Footsteps were heard behind them, as well as a small clearing of the throat. "Well I'm sorry to say that I don't know much about my family... or childhood...or anything else actually. But I can say that I spent quite a bit of my life as a servant in the Fire Nation palace. It was the best I could do, I suppose. I was a runaway, no parents, no friends. I had to hide my Air bending, for fear of being executed or something drastic like that. We all know the Fire Nation is drastic and unnecessarily violent." She trailed off with a scowl. She sat down in the sand next to Sokka. "Satisfied? Can you at least trust me a little bit now?" She smiled shyly up at Sokka.

Sokka, obviously embarrassed by the bit of attention, turned a little red in the face before smiling back at her and nodding. "Sure. It's better than nothing I guess."

'_How does she have this effect...? Sheesh. I'll bet she can make me do anything with that smile. Ooo... Not a good thought. Scary thought, scary thought.'_ Sokka turned his gaze away from Kiara's quickly.

"Well what about the other one? What about her, huh? Does she have a past we should know about?" He inquired.

Everyone's gazes involuntarily turned to Zuko, silently asking him the question. He sighed.

"Don't look at me." He sounded angry and frustrated, or maybe it was just annoyed. Nevertheless, it made everyone cringe. "I don't even know much. I met her when I was two or three. We were friends ever since. But one day when we were about 8 she just, disappeared. I didn't see her again until now. I have no idea what happened to her. So don't ask me, ask her." He turned his gaze back out to the water and his face went blank again.

After a few minutes of silence, Katara jumped up from her spot on the ground. "Well I'm going to go find her, bring her out here, and tell her to spill. I'll be right back. Kiara, is she inside?"

"I believe so, yes."

Katara nodded and walked along the beach and back into the house. She searched a few of the rooms before finally finding the black haired girl. Katara pushed open the door quietly. She was about to say something witty, albeit harsh that just wanted to make itself known when she saw what Raven was doing.

She was sitting on her bed, facing away from Katara and instead looking out of the large window on the other side of the room. That wouldn't have fazed Katara. But Raven was holding something sparkly in her hands. It was a necklace remarkably similar to Katara's own. The one that had belonged to her mother. Instead of dark blue, the material was of a lighter color. But the silver pendant hanging from it held the symbol of water on it. Raven was clutching it tightly in her hands. So tight, her knuckles were almost turning white from the strain.

Katara decided to interrupt, but more nicely than she had originally planned on. "You said you wanted to tell everyone at the same time." She waited until Raven's gaze landed on her. "Well everyone is waiting for you down on the beach, including Zuko." Katara turned and walked back down the stairs. She headed back towards the group without a single glance back to see whether or not Raven was following her.

She didn't need to look.

She could hear Raven's footsteps just fine.

_**X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X**_

"I was born in the Southern Water Tribe."

From the first sentence, almost everyone had become enthralled in Raven's story. They had all shown their exclamations of surprise, which ranged from gasps to a shocked 'WHAT?' The only person that didn't show outright surprise was Zuko. And Katara wondered why, so she asked.

"Zuko...how are you not surprised by that?" She spoke a bit hesitantly. Zuko had shown signs of being somewhat cranky tonight.

"I told you before. We met each other when we were two." His voice was spoken with no emotion.

Katara narrowed her eyes in confusion.

Raven elaborated for her. "We were inseparable, to put it lightly. We told each other everything when we were younger. Whenever my dad told me something I hadn't known before, it ended up being the first thing I told Zuko the next time we saw each other. But you're getting me ahead of myself. Where was I?"

"The Southern Water Tribe? But...you're my age. Wouldn't I have known you?" Sokka asked, skeptical.

"My father wasn't big on me being born in the South Pole. He was a Fire Nation Soldier, actually, and he wanted me to be born in the Fire Nation. But my mother refused to move away. And so he made her promise to keep me hidden away from the other children. Apparently it was effective."

"So your mother was of the water tribe, and your father was a fire nation soldier? How did that happen? The war was going on long before we were born!" Sokka yelled out.

"Do you believe in love at first sight, Sokka?" Raven asked. After Sokka shook his head no, Raven continued. "Then you probably wouldn't understand. Well, at least that's what my father called it. Although I wouldn't call what he did to us, 'love'.

"As the war escalated my father was ostracized from both the Fire Nation- for being associated with my mother, and from the Water Tribe- because he was a soldier. He originally told me that my mother was the one who instigated my move to the Fire Nation. But then why wouldn't she have come with? That's what started me thinking he was just lying to me to try and get on my good side. My theory is, he got angry about the betrayal and technically kidnapped me back to the Fire nation. I think he used me in order to get back his authority. I was two." At this, Raven shrugged nonchalantly.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Sokka once again blurted something out. "How can you be so calm about this? Your father ran away with you and used you as a bargaining chip! Doesn't that make you furious?"

She merely shrugged again. "I suppose it's something you learn to live with. He was my dad. Even if I do hate him with all my might, I still love him no matter what. So it's pointless to keep a grudge in my opinion. It's all over and done with." At this, she caught Zuko's gaze, which, for the first time that night, had been directed on her.

To Katara, he was looking at Raven with something that mirrored disappointment. Or maybe disbelief. Or was it sympathy? She couldn't tell. All she knew was that whatever it was, Raven didn't like it that much because she immediately dropped his gaze and turned the back of her head to him. She had a slight scowl on her face. At that, Zuko frowned slightly before turning his head back to the water as he was previously.

Raven's scowl disappeared quickly and she continued on her story.

"My father was a middle ranked soldier, but he lived very close to the palace. There were a few days that I had to go into the palace with him, due to the fact that I was very young and I didn't have a mother or a babysitter.

"I remember my dad always telling me to stay close, and to behave like a well-mannered lady. I remember seeing those walls that sparkled like fire and the cinders that jumped out of the torches that hung on the walls. I was fascinated, just like any other two year old child would be, I suppose. One day, I guess I just snapped. I remember taking off running down one of the hallways, with my father chasing after me, yelling at me to 'cease!' and 'come back this instant!'" Raven tried mimicking her father by using a lower tone of voice. But she did it with a somber look on her face, reminding Sokka not to laugh. Because he would have laughed.

"And then I ran into someone's legs and fell flat on my butt." Sokka couldn't help but snigger at that mental image. But he fell silent at the sight of Katara's sharp glare.

"My father was apologizing like crazy, and I had never heard him ask for forgiveness so much before. I was confused as to why this person made my father do something like that. I quickly learned later that it was because that person I ran into just happened to be the Fire Lord's wife, and Zuko's mother.

"Surprisingly, she took a liking to me. Apparently, she had told my father that she would look after me any time I needed a babysitter. Because she had a son and a daughter that were both about my age. And that was how I met Zuko.

"We were a little wary of each other at first, I think. I didn't really get along with Azula or Zuko. But I guess Azula's terrors ended up banding Zuko and I together, and so we became somewhat friends, if only to help each other escape Azula. But it seemed the closer we got to each other, the harder it was to tear us apart." Raven smiled at the thought. "Sooner or later, we were the best of friends, telling each other everything about ourselves, to the point that we could have written each other's life story so far."

Even Zuko managed a small smile at that. Katara caught it and couldn't help but notice it only made her want to smile too.

"When I was five, I found out that I could Water-bend. I was sitting on the beach, and it just...happened. Luckily for me and my dad, the only person that was with me at the time I did it was Zuko. I got scared. I ran home, and I told my dad. After showing him he told me never to tell anyone about it ever. He practically forbade me from Water-bending. After that, he started getting angry at me for the littlest things. I think it was because he was hoping I would have taken after his side of the family and been a Fire-bender instead.

"So I stopped using my Water-bending completely. And then, on my sixth birthday, I Fire-bended. I had gotten a birthday cake, complete with six candles and my favorite frosting. I was waiting for my father to return from work and Zuko was with me. He had just begun his Fire-bending, and so he was busy practicing by putting out the candles and re-lighting them. I was just watching him in a daze, when..." Raven looked over to Zuko.

"When I told you to try it."

"And I tried. And when that fire lit up—"

"You blamed me. You thought I was playing games with you and tricking you into thinking you had really Fire-bended." Zuko had a slight frown on his face, but laughter flickered in his eyes.

"And so I made you stand in front of me when I did it again, so I could watch to see if you moved. And..."

"I didn't move. You looked so shocked, and even a little bit scared. But then you burst out into the biggest smile I had ever seen. Then you kept doing it over and over again until your dad got home. And when he walked through that door—"

"I ran around to the door and showed him the lit candle."

"He had no idea what you meant. All you were doing was waving the candle in front of his face yelling. He looked so bewildered and confused. And you looked like a nutcase." Zuko smiled again.

Raven laughed. "Hey... I'm no nutcase." She sounded scolding.

"You used to—"

"We _both_ used to be." The two laughed at each other.

Katara wasn't the only one who looked on in surprise. Everyone was watching the two Fire-benders as they practically stole the words out of each other's mouths to tell the story. They sounded just like they should, old friends retelling a story together. And now they were laughing at the memories it brought back. They looked like best friends, really close best friends.

And that's what made Katara snap.

"You're getting off track. Stick with the story." Her tone was harsher than she meant it to be.

Raven and Zuko's laughter trailed off, and they both turned to Katara. Zuko looked confused, and Raven scowled at her.

Katara looked to Raven, then Zuko. After seeing both of their faces, she turned her gaze towards the ground at Zuko's feet. She tried to give an excuse for her outburst.

"It's... uh... getting dark, and we should all probably get sleeping soon, so you should finish your story as soon as possible." She cleared her throat nervously, before glancing hesitantly at Zuko, not Raven.

Raven, as if just coming to a stunning revelation, smirked and started speaking again. Her eyes shone with something Katara couldn't quite decipher. Was that mischief?

"Right. Sorry about that. Now where was I? Oh, yes... I hurried my dad into the kitchen and sat him down. I put the candle back into the cake, dousing its light as well. And then I came to sit beside my dad. He asked what was going on, and I just said, 'Watch'. I re-lit the candle with Fire-bending.

"He sat there for about two minutes in silence before I began to worry that showing him might not have been the best idea. But then he turned to Zuko, and asked him if he thought I would be able to accompany him to his lessons. His mouth was set in a firm line, but from years of being with him, I knew he was happy. His eyes were smiling." Raven broke off in a sad smile. "I went to the lessons with Zuko for quite a while, and after about a year and a half, we were both pretty skilled."

"I have a question." The voice came from Raven's left side, so she turned that way to meet Kiara's inquisitive eyes. Raven nodded to go on. "Your eyes... have they always been like that; the two different colors? I mean, wouldn't someone from the Fire Nation notice and become suspicious of your heritage?"

"I was born with the amber eyes, so I fit in with the other Fire Nation children for the most part. The change happened soon after my Water-bending became apparent. The red on my right eye just started fading and disappearing, until it ended up this color of blue. After that happened, my father ordered me to grow my hair longer to cover it up, and as you can see, I just sort of kept it that way.

"But after the lessons with Zuko started up, my father was promoted. He spent more and more time at the palace working, and I became more and more independent. He left me alone more often, and so I ended up getting even closer to Zuko because of it. We were like brother and sister almost."

Raven laughed. She then gave Katara a sideways glance, her eyes once again full of...Was that mischief? She spoke again. "Oh Zuko... do you remember that time we kissed?"

Katara froze. _'K-k-kissed? What?'_ She felt an uncomfortable twist in her gut at the thought. Her eyes burned holes through Raven's head. What was this? Why was she so upset at the thought of them kissing? She was angry, but she was sad too. At it confused her all the more.

"Worst mistake we had ever made. I'm sure we'll never do that again." Zuko spoke.

She turned her face to look at Zuko. Only to notice that his mouth was moving. Zuko had been talking. She tried to clear her head enough to hear what it was he was saying. She only caught the end of his sentence. And it made her stomach twist yet again.

"—do that again!"

'_Do that again? So they are more than friends!'_ She felt dizzy, angry, sad, hurt, and confused. A mixture of emotions too hard to keep track of. _'Why am I feeling like this? It's not as if I'm jea- oh crud. I'm jealous. I...I like Zuko.'_ She looked to Raven's face only to see that it was trained on her own. She had an evil glint in her eye that just added to the mischief already situated there. And her mouth... her mouth was in the form of that smirk. _'That smirk can rival Azula's.'_ Katara thought in the back of her mind.

"That was the last time I ever saw you. Wasn't it, Raven? That night." Zuko continued. A saddened look had crossed his face.

"Yeah..." Raven turned her head back into the conversation. The smirk disappearing as quickly as it had come.

"Where have you been? What happened to you?"

Raven took a deep breath before beginning. "Remember that cloak that my father got me for my eighth birthday? The one that you said makes me look older than I really am?" Zuko nodded. "Well I was wearing it home that night because it was raining. It was heavy, and so I decided to take that shortcut we found. I was passing by the alleyway on my street and someone grabbed me, covered my mouth, and the next thing I knew, it was fading black. Whoever it was had knocked me out." **(A/N: Cliché... I know. I couldn't help it :D)**

She opened her mouth to continue, but everyone's facial expressions stopped her. Eyes were widened, mouths were open in surprise and horror, and Zuko... well Zuko was looking at her with a guilty expression. She turned confused eyes on him, willing him to speak.

"I told you that you shouldn't have gone home alone. It was dark already, it was raining, and the Fire Nation itself isn't that safe of a place! Especially at night! There are robbers around every turn! And—"

Raven cut him off. "And I told you I could handle myself. It's not your fault Zuko. Really." She looked at him with scolding eyes. Like a mother who had just caught her child stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Only her eyes also held a twinge of sadness.

Zuko just turned back to the ocean and went silent.

Raven sighed and went on. "I woke up in the morning the next day. Except... I was surrounded by water. I was on a ship. I remember screaming and running around frantically searching for land. And then when I couldn't see any I sat down on the deck in a little ball. Still screaming." She smiled and laughed at herself.

"Some guy came up to me and tried to calm me down. Then another one started asking me all these questions. What's your name? How old are you? Are you a bender? And then someone else, a big burly man, asked me 'Is your family important?' that question was the one that sobered me up enough to answer. So I told them everything. Then I asked if they would bring me back home. And they said no. I asked why and they said because we have a job to do. I asked what the job was and they said to go to the Southern Water Tribe looking for new Water-benders. I think that was the one that made me tell myself to just go along with this. I was going to the place I was born. The least I could do was to just sit there and stay out of the way, right?"

Raven suddenly laughed. "That first meal I had on the ship was horrendous. Here I was thinking I would just get to sit there on the deck and stare out at the ocean the whole ride. And I end up in the kitchen cooking the first decent meal these people have ever had. Permanently." Raven huffed and a slight frown came on her face. "They treated me alright. It almost started to feel like a family after the first year or so, surprisingly. I got along with pretty much everyone. Except the captain. To him I was a 'Stupid-little-brat-who-should-have-been-thrown-overboard-the-first-chance-we-got'. So I steered clear of him.

"Then we got to the Water Tribe. I was ordered to stay on the ship, because they said that sometimes things get violent, and they didn't want a ten or eleven year old seeing what they had to do." She gave a sympathetic look to Katara and Sokka's angered, sorrowful ones. "They took a few prisoners. And I was assigned to take care of them on the ride home. I was to give them food, water, and or whatever else they needed to survive. I always gave them more than they were supposed to have when I could. Don't get me wrong, I disliked the idea of keeping prisoners as much as you all do, but it wasn't as if I could have set them free! So I did what I could to keep them going.

"On the way back to the Fire Nation, we got caught in a storm. It was really bad, and we thought the ship was going to capsize." Raven's vice dropped to a whisper. "I had never been so afraid in my life..."

Katara noticed Zuko's worried eyes on Raven, and felt her stomach twist painfully again.

"We got shipwrecked on an island in the middle of nowhere. I think everyone else started to lose their minds; we were there for so long. They had all lost hope. But that was the one thing my dad taught me, to never lose hope in something, or else that something would never happen. I took the initiative. I cooked. I cleaned. I became somewhat of a medic, even. I told them those stories your mother used to tell us, Zuko. I taught them those songs. And I think I changed them a bit.

"But then Captain got sick. He didn't do anything about it, thinking I would just up and heal him. But I didn't. Because I couldn't. I didn't know what it was he had come down with, and I didn't know how to stop it from spreading, or killing him. And that's just what it did.

"Once everyone found out someone decided, without my consent may I add, that I would be the new captain. I thought, 'it couldn't hurt to be captain for a while, right? I'm leaving them when we get back to the Fire Nation, so why couldn't I have some fun in the meantime?'

"So I made a deal with them. I'd be their captain as long as they promised never to kidnap the Water-benders again. I was wholeheartedly surprised when they agreed. The days after that went by quick enough. And after my 14th birthday, I think, was when the little boat came sailing aimlessly towards our little island. We got its attention, and one other and I went back with it to whatever place the boat came from. We rented another, bigger boat, and came back for the others. I left the Water-benders in that new place, wishing them luck to get back home, and then we went back to the Fire Nation.

"Now I had no idea what had gone on in my absence, but obviously I missed a bit. For when I got back, it was none other than Azula who turned our boat away. She came aboard and her eyes immediately went to mine. 'Well well.' She said. 'We were wondering where you disappeared off to. I wonder why you weren't thrown overboard.' I remember opening my mouth to retaliate, but one of my men spoke first. 'Our old captain suggested that. But if we had thrown her overboard we wouldn't have survived out there.' That put a smile on my face for sure. He threw a dagger at her, but she dodged it with that trademark scowl of hers. She walked off of the boat and suddenly turned and started barreling down on us with Fireballs and such. I deflected all that I could, but she did some serious damage to the ship. So I ran back, and started sailing back out to the ocean.

"But before we got too far, Azula shouted at me again. I'll never forget what she said. It was, 'You're just a traitor Raven! Just like your father! And just like my brother! You manipulated them and changed them for the worst! They wouldn't be dead if it weren't for you!'" She went silent.

Zuko stared at her. "You...you thought I was... dead?"

"I doubted it, sure. But I think I lost hope of ever seeing you again after a while."

Zuko frowned at her in sadness.

"I mean, obviously you're not dead. But... but my father is, isn't he?" She lifted her eyes from the ground to look at Zuko. Her face was unreadable. "What happened?"

Zuko took a deep breath. He recited what had happened in the throne room when he stood up against his father. "Your father was in the room at the time. He agreed with me. And he spoke his agreement to my father. I was banished with the scar, you father was..." He broke off.

"I _told you_ the Fire Nation was the mastermind behind cruel and unusual punishment! _**I told you**_!" This time it was Kiara who shouted. "They torture and take innocent people's lives. Someone needs to talk some sense into the people that run that **NATION**! I mean, _really_!" Kiara had the most hilarious puppy dog pout on her face and her eyebrows were pulled down in a frown.

Sokka was the one who started laughing first. Then Raven, from the absurdity of it all, then Zuko. Seeing Zuko laugh made Katara smile. And Aang and Toph joined in sooner or later.

The laughter was a good end to the night. A good end to the story. It washed away the doubt, the sadness, and the pain. If only for a little while.

That night was the one no member of that circle ever forgot. It was the moment that they all shared the same feeling. Together.

Because together, for this group, never seemed to last long enough.

* * *

**A/N: So. That chapter was... an intermission... in a way I suppose. It didn't really progress the story that much, but I thought I needed to explain Raven. If her story is confusing in a way, just let me know and I'll try to solve the problem. **

**Review?**


	19. Chapter 19: A Promise Broken

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Kiara and Raven. And a teensy weensy bit of the plot here. But most I don't own. :( **

**A/N: Nothing to say here. Please review when you're through! :D I'd greatly appreciate it! **

**Rewrite: 7-7-102:43pm: The farther along I got in the story, the better my writing must have gotten, because I'm finding it hard to add anything. Only fixing smidgens of grammar and spelling. **

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**Chapter 19: A Promise Broken**

Waking up early in the morning was something else the group had gotten used to. When people constantly chased you and you had to move from places to other places swiftly, getting up early in the morning was something regular to deal with. When you had to do a certain thing regularly, you eventually got used to it.

However, waking up from a peaceful slumber because you smell smoke is never a good way to wake up. Especially if the smoke you smell is coming from a fire on your bed sheet that is not originally supposed to be there.

"_Ahhhhh_!"

Aang's shriek of terror reverberated through the house, heard by everyone that was currently inside of the structure. Which means it woke everyone up. They all rushed to Aang's bedroom in a hustle, looking sort of like a stampede of buffalo. Well, a stampede of much-uncoordinated buffalo. Although I suppose that's what happens when you run while you're still tired. They were tripping over each other's- and their own- feet on the way to Aang's doorway.

Toph and Katara got there first.

"Aang!"

"What's wrong?"

They were both in bending stances, ready to ward off the threat. After seeing there was no stranger in the room, Toph settled down visibly.

Next to arrive were Kiara and Sokka, who came from different ends of the hallway.

Kiara was in a small blue nightgown that reached down to about her knees. She had found it earlier in the village the day before. Her normal pigtailed hair was down around her shoulders, flowing in waves of bleach white and red streaks.

Sokka, on the other hand, was currently shirtless, having just jumped out of bed in a hurry after Aang screamed.

They took one look at each other, blushed, and turned opposite ways, eyes wide. Embarrassed and surprised.

Aang took this time to answer. "ZUKO!" He pointed furiously at the intruder who had so nicely waked him up. "H-he...you shot a fireball at me! I was sleeping! You could have killed me!" He fixed a glare on Zuko's form in the corner of his room.

"But I didn't. That's the point right? Besides, you need to be ready for everything and anything. You have _two days_. _**Two days **_before you fight my father, Aang!

There is no time for sleeping in! You said it yourself! You need to train. You've barely started the basics of Fire-bending; Toph says you need more work on your Earth-bending, and who knows? You could probably use more practice with your Water-bending too!" Zuko yelled back.

Zuko's current accusation was a valid one, as was Aang's. The curtains on the window were charred and blacked. The dresser and the closet door were bent and ashen, looking quite like they would collapse into piles of dust if even a feather touched it now. Aang was standing on a rug in the middle of the floor, having just stomped repeatedly on it to put out the small fire that still lingered there. He had leaped up from the bed at the first sign of the fire. Good thing too, because that was where Zuko had shot first. The bedspread and comforter were still alight in ravenous, hungry flames. They cast monstrous shadows on the wall that lingered over Zuko's head, ready to engulf him whole. Zuko was unmoved.

The two scowled and glared at each other.

Laughter from the doorway broke the spell, though, and everyone whipped around to face it.

Raven was doubled over, clutching her stomach and trying to catch her breath. "Oh...oh my...oh that's hilarious!" She breathed out.

"Hilarious? Are you serious? Aang could have been seriously hurt! What would we have done if he got injured?" Katara yelled indignantly. "Zuko needs to stop being so... so..."

"Straightforward? Rebellious? Violent? That's Zuko for ya. Never thinking about the consequences, just doing it." Raven sobered a bit. Her laughter stopped, but the big smile stayed, and her tone was still light. "If you're so serious about Aang not getting hurt..." She walked up to Aang's side and turned him around. "Then maybe you should pay more attention to things that could potentially hurt him." She patted out the small, slowly growing flame that was making its home on the back of Aang's shirt. "And maybe extinguishing the rest of the fire in this room before it spreads and burns down the whole house." She pointed to the bed sheets. "Maybe you should think about that before placing the blame and pointing fingers."

Katara blinked. Raven had a point, but that's what angered Katara. So she put on her best 'whatever' look and walked downstairs to go make breakfast or something.

Raven watched her go, and then spoke in a loud enough voice for the Water-bender to hear. "Is she always this cranky in the mornings?"

"Pretty much." Toph answered.

A door in the hallway slammed. Sokka and Kiara winced. They snuck a quick glance at each other and then sped down their respective hallways, leaving a mere cloud of dust in their wake. Toph followed slowly.

Raven started batting out the flames on the bed as best as she could. Finishing, she turned to Aang. "I've decided to help Zuko out with your Fire-bending training this morning. So hurry up and get ready. We'll meet you down in the kitchen for some food."

Aang nodded and shoed them both out of his room, still glaring at Zuko. Once they were safely alone in the hallway Raven blurted out, "I can't even begin to believe what you see in that girl. She's stubborn, annoying, bossy, and has absolutely no consideration in my opinion. I mean—"

"Wait... wait a minute... you think I like Katara?"

"Funny how you knew I was talking about her." She said under her breath. Then replied. "No. That's preposterous Zuko. You don't like Katara..."

"Exactly"

"You _Looooove_ her!"

"Exactly. W-wait! No!"

"Hahaha! You love her, you love her!" Raven darted down the hallway towards the kitchen, singing out the words like a little kid.

"Shut up Raven! Be quiet! Stop that!" Zuko chased her desperately, grabbing at her and trying to cover her mouth, but Raven was too fast, and she dodged his attacks. "She'll hear you!"

"Who cares if she hears you, huh? You can just deny it! You said it wasn't true!"

"But it is true!" Zuko stopped short and clamped his mouth shut. His hand covered it and his eyes widened in horror.

Raven stopped running as well and turned to look at Zuko. She had on that contagious smile he loved.

"Don't you _dare_ say _anything_ to _anyone_—" He pleaded.

"Promise."

She turned and walked into the kitchen, Zuko following, a smile on his face now too.

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"Again."

"Again? You can't be serious! We've been at this for hours! I think I get it by now." Aang complained to his 'teacher'.

Zuko sighed. "Repetitive training burns the skill into the front of your mind so it becomes like a second nature. That way you won't end up forgetting it all in the middle of a fight."

"What makes you think I'll forget? I'm not stupid!"

Raven answered him this time. "Having the fate of the world on your shoulders in a fight is a big burden to carry. While fighting under a lot of pressure like that, sometimes people forget things. Even the strongest of people can crack. I'm sure you won't be one of those people, Aang, but we want to make sure you fully understand what it is you are doing. If you mess up and die, well...well I won't go there." Aang shot her a look of horror. Raven gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"You won't die Aang. You can't!" Katara was sitting on the sidelines of their training session, watching all of the Fire-bending with a hint of awe.

"Thanks, Katara." He flashed a tired smile.

She sighed angrily. "Would you look at that? He's already half-dead! You two have tired him out too much, so let him rest for a while!"

Raven sighed in return. She turned to Aang. "Alright. We only have one more thing to show you today. Furthermore, it may end up being the most important thing in your fight with the Fire Lord."

"And what is that?"

"Redirecting Lightning."

"Cool!" Aang's face lit up in a smile.

"Well don't look at me. I've done it before, but I've taught you enough already. Zuko's turn." Raven nodded her head towards Zuko.

"So you've redirected lightning before, too?" Aang asked him.

"Once. Against my father." He began to move his arms across his torso, from hand to hand, outstretched, showing Aang the movements.

Aang nodded and mimicked Zuko's movements.

"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's energy against them."

"That's like Water-bending, then." Aang noted.

"My uncle invented this technique by studying Water-benders."

Aang nodded in understanding. They did the movement a few more times, and then stopped at Aang's question.

"What was it like?"

"What?"

"Redirecting the lightning. What was it like?" Aang asked in wonder.

"It was...exhilarating...but terrifying. You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body. But you know if you make the wrong move-it's over."

"...Over?" Aang squeaked out.

"Yep." Raven answered him in a cheery tone. "By redirecting it, you're moving it through your body. If you lose it, _boom_!" She mimicked an explosion with her hands.

Aang's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll be perfectly fine, Aang. You'll do great." Raven eased the worry of Aang's face.

However, Zuko put it right back on. "You just have to make sure you kill my father before he kills you."

"Right... no worries there." Aang drawled.

_'But I don't know if I_ can _kill him.' _

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"Aang! _Aang~_ **AANG!** ...Aang?" Sokka walked through the house, calling out for Aang. The whole group as about ready to leave, and Aang was nowhere to be found. The group had searched the village, the beach, and every single nook and cranny the house possibly had, but Aang had just...disappeared.

"It's like he just...disappeared!" Sokka shouted out.

"He couldn't have disappeared, Sokka. That's impossible." Katara stated.

"Where else could he be?" Toph asked.

"Well he's not on the island... could he have been captured?" Raven gave her input.

"There was no sign of a struggle in his footprints on the beach... and I doubt he would have gone so easily. I think someone would have heard something." Zuko added.

They went on like that for a while longer. Giving suggestions and ruling out obvious wrongs. It was when their debate finally went silent that Toph noticed something strange.

Kiara had stayed unnaturally silent for the whole debate.

"Kiara," Toph spoke, "do you have any ideas as to where he might have gone?"

Kiara turned to face her. She took a visible breath. "No."

"Are you sure?" Toph pushed.

Kiara's eyes narrowed on her. "Yes."

Toph smiled to herself. "She's lying."

Everyone's eyes turned to Kiara's face. She scowled and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I don't know where he is, exactly. All I know is that he probably went away to be alone, and to think for himself. He needed time to think about what it is he's going to do when he faces the Fire Lord."

"He's going to kill him. What else does he need to know?" Sokka asked, confused.

Kiara sighed again. "He, like me, refuses to use unnecessary violence to deal with this situation."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Toph raised an eyebrow.

"He doesn't think he'll be able to kill the Fire Lord. He doesn't want to. He's trying to figure out a way to stop the Fire Lord without having to take his life. It would be better that way. That way he won't have a guilty conscience when he's finished." Kiara nodded and smiled. She seemed happy with herself for something. "I'm proud of him."

"So...he left the island... to think? And he didn't tell any of us where it is he went? How stupid of him! What if something happens to him while he is away? What would we do then? Nobody's there to protect—" Katara was cut off.

"Please hush up, you worry-wart. You're giving me a headache with all of your ranting." Raven frowned at Katara's shocked expression. "Aang can take care of himself. This is his fight and his fight alone. He'll do his part, and we'll do ours. We just have to give him time to sort this all out. Personally, I do believe I'm proud of him too."

Kiara shot up from her sitting position and hugged Raven fiercely around the neck. "Oh I knew you all would come around! I am such a positive influence!"

"Whoa there, slow down Kiara. I'm not saying violence is completely wrong...just that I think Aang is way too innocent to kill anyone, and that this decision is probably going to make things a bit easier for him. I'm still pro-violence." She smirked devilishly.

Kiara shrieked and jumped off her. Raven laughed a bit, showing Kiara she was just joking.

"Well, I say we go and look for Aang. And quick." Toph suggested.

"I say we make our own plan, and leave the Fire Lord to Aang. Like I said, it's his battle, not ours." Raven replied. She looked to everyone's faces. "Well?"

"Then what else could we do to help?" Sokka asked.

"The Fire Nation ships. We could take those down, or at least, as much of them down as we can. That would help him! Then when we finished we would be right there to congratulate him on his victory!" Kiara smiled.

"And then? There has to be something else. Not all six of us can go to the ships, we would be too noticeable."

"And how, exactly do you plan on us getting to the ships?"

Raven's mouth turned down in thought. "Well. You could take Appa, but that may be too noticeable also."

"What about my sister?" Zuko voiced aloud to the group.

Raven took a deep breath. "She needs to be taken down as well. Zuko and I can do that. We'll take Appa. I remember seeing a few Fire Nation guard posts around the island. If you snoop a bit, you might find a worthy form of transportation..." She smiled sheepishly.

"I think you should go with them Raven. I can go with Zuko."

Raven spun to face Katara. "And why do you think I should go with them and not Zuko?" She put on a skeptical look.

"I'm sure you know a lot about the ships and such, seeing as you were on one for a fair share of your life. You'd be of bigger help to them, I'm sure."

Raven wasn't convinced. "Right... because nobody else knows how to steer a ship. Alrighty then... Sokka, Toph, Kiara? Do you people think you can handle yourselves on board of the big scary Fire-Nation ships by yourself? Or do you need me to hold your hands along the way?"

Sokka sniggered. "I think we'll be fine. A Water-bender would be nice, though."

"Well then why don't you invite your sister along? I'm sure she'd love to come!"

Katara scowled. "You know you'd be of more help than me! Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"Azula isn't just Zuko's sister, alright? She was like sister to me too for the most part, because I spent more than half of my childhood around her. I grew to hate her. Despise her. She was the one who kept me from seeing my father and Zuko again. No matter how bad it seems, when she falls, I want to be there to see it. Part of me wants to be the cause of it. And not just for my benefit, either. She terrorized me and she terrorized Zuko. You could call it revenge if you want, but if I'm given the chance to fight her, I will take that chance." Raven looked determined, and Katara knew she wouldn't give it up.

But that didn't mean she couldn't try. She would not let the two of them be alone together. Never would she let that girl get her man. '_Whoa... did I just call Zuko...my man?'_

"Well if that's the way you want to play it than fine. Revenge is what I want too. She almost killed Aang, and I want to get revenge for him. She's terrorized you, sure, but she's terrorized us too. I want revenge just as much as you do."

Raven scoffed. "Yeah, right. You just want to come along because you want to be paired with Zuko."

"What?" That was both Katara and Zuko. Although Zuko was ignored.

"You know its true Katara. You sneak glances at him whenever you think nobody's looking, you constantly agree with him on everything, and I'm surprised nobody else noticed how jealous you got that night at the campfire when I reminded Zuko of the time we kissed! You looked about ready to rip my head off my neck with those hands clenched into fists. Your glare was burning holes into my head!"

"I-I was not j-jealous." Katara's eyes were now looking at the ground, a red tinge coming across her face. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, nobody knew.

"It's sad how the two of you can't even notice it. The fact that you are completely in _love_ with each other it's _obvious_ as heck! Just stop keeping it a secret already and tell each other! You love him, and he loves you! It isn't any harder than that!"

Suddenly, Raven was stuck looking at Katara's back as she stomped off and into the house. She shook her head in exasperation and turned to face the rest of the group. Zuko walked up to her.

"You promised." Raven's eyes narrowed in confusion before widening back in shock. "You've never broken a promise to me. I guess you ended up changing for the worse while you were gone." He shook his head in anger and headed down towards the beach.

Raven gasped. Her mouth was open in shock, her eyes turned down in sadness. It was as if she just now realized what she had done.

A tear rolled down her cheek. She took a deep breath. "I'll...I-I'll be in the v-village if...anybody needs m-me." She turned and fled.

_Dear lord. What have I done?_

_****__X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X-x-x-X_

**A/N: At first, I was thinking of having a humongous bending battle between the two of them... but as I was writing, it just didn't fit in with the mood I was feeling. But I think it turned out ok. Then again... I don't care what I think at the moment. I want to know what you people think of the chapter :D And what better way to let me know than in a review!**

**So… Review?**


	20. Chapter 20: A Promise Fulfilled

**Disclaimer: No. I don't own. If I did, the show wouldn't have turned out half as good as it did. So thank the actual makers of the show for putting this idea into my head! I bow down to them for making the only cartoon I truly watched from start to end! Other than anime... but that doesn't qualify as cartoon in my book. And guess what! This is supposed to be a disclaimer! And I'm rambling! Again! I'll stop now.**

**A/N: AH! So quickly updated! But it's short. More Raven background. Yay!**

**Rewrite: 7-7-10: 11:01pm: I should not be on the computer right now. End of story. :D **

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The sun was already setting when she finally stopped running. Her face was wet from the tears. They wouldn't seem to stop flowing. They made her vision blurry, making it hard to see, and causing her to run into countless things in the village, so she stopped.

She wiped her eyes as best as she could and took a fleeting glance at her surroundings. How...convenient. She was near the river that flowed through the village from the Ocean nearby. She was standing in the same spot, the one she was in when she had fought Azula.

That brought back memories from the topic the two had been bickering about. And those thoughts of her father only fueled the ever-present tears.

Her fight with Azula put yet another thought into her head. Her blood-bending. How did that go so different? Normally it doesn't cause any pain to the opponent, only the loss of their ability to use their own body. But Azula had been screaming in pain and misery from the bending she did. What _did_ she do?

Then it struck her. She knew what had happened. She'd lost control, that's what. Lost control over the power she had worked so hard to repel.

Her double ability.

The fact that she was a double made her stronger, period. Although, the price of power always comes with a disadvantage. Doubles were given _too_ much power.

If a double knew about their power from the very beginning, they would be able to learn control from a young age, making it easier to restrain the energy. But then again, the six-year-old Raven had no idea what she had been. A firebender and a waterbender? Her own father had treated her as if it was a disgrace to the world, frowning deeply upon the Water aspect of her ability. She had no teachers to tell her what to do about it, no elders she trusted enough to ask about it, and absolutely no one who knew to warn her of the powers she could unleash. She had learned that on her own.

What had happened was that her bending elements had mixed, using both at the same time. Fire and Water are opposites, yes, but certain special abilities of each could mix well. Such as lightning/electricity and plain water. The shock that resulted could kill a normal person instantly. Or, in this instance, Blood-bending and plain fire. It could make a person feel as though their blood was on fire. If it reached their heart...well... I think you get where this is going.

She knew the fight with Azula had been that exact power, her double ability, because something similar had happened once before.

It had been during her first Water tribe raid with the Southern Raiders.

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X Flashback (first person)**__**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

_I smiled as I ran triumphantly off the ship's dock. Too easy. It had been too easy just to sneak around the two soldiers they had assigned to watch me. I could hear their frustrated yells and running footfalls as they tried to catch up to me. But little kids are just so swift! Hehe!_

_As soon as I stepped off the ship, I noticed exactly why they didn't want me out here. Not only was the noise of screams and yells unbearable and loud, but fire and water were being shot around in complete disorder. Instead of running through the village, (I wasn't that stupid!), I snuck around the houses slowly, making sure I wouldn't be seen. Good lord knows what they would have done to me if they saw me out here. Waterbenders and Southern Raiders alike. I shuddered at the thought. I was too young to walk the plank! Not that they would actually do that, I don't know really. They weren't really pirates...but captain_ did _hate me…_

_Shrugging off the random thought, I continued sneaking. Then I stopped short at what I saw next. A woman who might have been their mother was herding off three little children, lots younger than I was. They were all frightened and crying, hysterically. What really stopped me though, was the wound that was bleeding profusely on the woman's arm. She didn't seem to notice it. Completely forgetting where I was and what I was doing, I walked up to her and opened my mouth to tell her of it._

_She took one look at me and cut me off with a scream. She stood protectively in front of the children and dropped to her knees. She spoke instead. "Please! Please don't hurt them! They're just little children! They are of no threat!"_

_That caught me off guard. I was ten! How old did I look? Did she really think I was a hardened soldier? Oh, that's right. A comprehensive look set on my face. The raiders had given me a set of soldier's garb so I would at least seemingly fit in with the rest of them. No matter my age, the soldier clothes were enough to spark fear in the woman. I opened my mouth to reassure her that I wasn't going to harm anyone, but I was cut off again. This time by something, something that truly scared me._

_"You make one move, Fire Nation dirt-bag, and I'll make sure it's the last move you make." It was a man, and from the sound of it - and the look on the woman's face- he was the woman's family. A small yell of 'Daddy!' from one of the children proved that fact. He was standing behind me, in a Waterbending position. That I could tell. What he didn't know, was that it was no threat to me. I could easily deflect his attack with Waterbending in return. But I decided to play along._

_"I mean you no harm, please." I spoke this time. Trying to make my voice sound as young as possible. Maybe that would spark some sense into these people. Make them think that maybe I was a prisoner too. A kidnapped child. Which I was. Technically. "I only meant to point out the wound on your shoulder, miss. If you don't treat it soon, it may get infected, and then you'll get sick."_

_The woman widened her eyes. She obviously wasn't expecting that. "Brother," Well then I guess the kids were her niece and nephews, "look at her. She's just a child as well. Perhaps she truly means us no harm. Perhaps she is trying to escape these Fire Nation people herself. We could take her with us, if she'd like that." My eyes lit up. I was born here, right? This was home just as the Fire Nation was. I could stay here! Maybe I could find my mother!_

_"No." Well there went my hope. "I don't care how old she is, she's a Fire Nation kid, and I don't trust any of the Fire scum." With that said, he darted his hand forward to shoot some Water at me. I spun around to deflect, but it ended up being useless, for instead of shooting Water, all I saw was a burst of flames. My mouth dropped open in shock._

_One of my 'babysitters' from the ship had found me. He was the one who had produced the flames. The flames had knocked over the man that had been threatening me, and now he lay unmoving on the ground a few feet away. I stared in horror as the woman behind me screamed out a name, probably the man's. I turned to my 'savior'. "What did you do that for? I could have handled it myself!"_

_"Oh yeah, kid? You're not even supposed to be out here. Get back on the ship now before both of us are injured or killed. Hustle."_

_"You _killed_ him!"_

_"No. I did not. He's a Waterbender, girl. He'll be taken as a prisoner by the other men."_

_I stared in horror again._

_"This is war kid. Learn to deal with—_

_A sudden blast of water hit him from the side, slamming him into the wall of a home nearby and abruptly cutting off his speech._

_The same was about to happen to me, but I deflected it with a Waterbending move myself._

_Our attacker came out from behind another house. This woman was older than the first. She looked more experienced than the man did, but she apparently shared his views on the Fire Nation. Attacking me... even though I was _soooo_ not old enough to be a real soldier. I was about to attack for some self-defense when I realized that she wasn't the only one surrounding me. There was another one behind me now. An older man, his face scarred up from many other battles during his lifetime, no doubt. The glare on his face scared me. Looking around to escape his face, I noticed that the man from before was being tended to and was now awake, standing up and glaring daggers at my face as well. Lovely. There were more people closing in around me. Either they were in bending stances or they were holding daggers and swords. This. Was. Not. Good._

_I was scared. Really, really scared. So just in case they decided to catch me off guard, I descended my body into a bending stance. But, without thinking, I ended up landing in a Fire-bending stance instead of a Water-bending one. The people around recognized that, and obviously thought I was going to attack. So they thought it wise to attack first. Still not good. At all. I fended off as much as I could, but I was losing and I knew it. Why didn't I just stay in the ship like a good little girl? Oh, that's right! It's because I'm such a brilliant ten year old and I thought I could easily survive walking through a war zone in Fire Nation clothes! ARG! Me and my stupid brilliance!_

_Well I was just plain screwed. I was only ten! I was too young to die! But, stuck in this situation, I knew living would be a miracle. I could kiss my life goodbye. Kiss my friends back home goodbye...I would never see them again._

_A big blast of fire came surging out of my hands, knocking a few people backwards slightly. They kept fighting back._

_Dad..._

_Another big blast. I was oblivious to it._

_Miss Ursa..._

_A larger blast, this time blue fire. The fighters yelled, shocked. I paid them no mind, my mind focused on the one last person I would miss._

_Zuko..._

_I screamed and cried out. That's when I realized what I was really doing. The fire had disappeared completely... the element coursing around me wasn't fire. It couldn't be... it was blue! It was static too... making a chirping noise like the one with which electricity is associated. Electricity... Lightning! It was lightning! No way! Was I doing this? I was!_

_It was coursing around me in circles like a shield almost. The Waterbenders were backing away, frightened out of their wits. The Water they had half-heartedly shot at me now was merely...absorbed. Is that the right word for it? The Water didn't disappear or anything, it just...stopped coming at me and started to flow with the lightning around me. It fused with it, making the lightning grow in size and power. It came with wind too... my hair was whipping around my shoulders like crazy. What else would have made it do that? It wasn't windy before._

_The Waterbenders began to flee, seeing that their attacks were only making me more powerful, making my shield bigger. The only one that stayed was the old woman that shot down the other Fire-bender. "You are a double." She spoke to me. "Fire and Water. How ironic it is that would receive the two opposites."_

_My eyes widened. She knew about my kind. Were there more people like me? I voiced my question as the lightning eased down a bit._

_She nodded her head. "I could help you learn about your kind, girl. You just need to calm down and come with me. Quickly."_

_I took a few deep breaths to try to calm myself. It started to work and gradually the hair around my shoulders stopped with the wind. I took a few steps and followed her into a nearby tent. She turned to me and began speaking. "Your kind is only born from parents who are both benders, but different elements. Such as a Fire-bender and a Water-bender in your case. But, even then the chances of birthing a double are rare and few. But yes, there are more like you dear."_

_"Are you a double?" I asked hesitantly. This woman was teaching me, but I was still an enemy. I didn't want to make her mad or anything like that. I was a little unsure of what she would gain by telling me this stuff._

_"I am." To say I was shocked would be an understatement. You have to understand...I have never met another double in my life, much less thought another one existed. This was the moment of a lifetime! I had so much to ask her! But... so little time. There was a war going on just outside the flaps of this tent. Any minute a soldier could come in and interrupt us. So I had to ask quickly. _

_"What are you?" _

_"Earth and Water." She answered. "Listen to me, child." She cut off my other questions. "We don't have much time." My thoughts exactly so stop talking and let me ask. "The Fire Lord knows about our kind. And he wants, like with all other strong and powerful things, to use us for his side in the war. Whatever you do, I don't want you to listen to him. He is the evil one in this war, and he will do anything to make you think otherwise. And he will do anything to win this war. If it means killing you so you won't end up fighting against him, he will go to those limits. If you can help it, I wouldn't go back to the Fire Nation." _

_"N-not go back? But it's my home! My friends... my dad..."_

_"I have a strong feeling that they will understand when you do see them again." _

_"But, what if I don't go back, and then I never see them again?" I was getting hysterical now. This woman, who is like me, comes into my life and then immediately tries to take me away from the only one I've ever known? Who does she think she is? _

_"You will see them again, my dear child. You will. You just have to believe it will happen, and believe in it strongly, and it will eventually happen. And your father... well, your father isn't one to be trusted greatly either my child."_

_"Believe. Right. I'll believe- wait. How do you know my father?"_

_"He came here a long time ago, on a raid such as this and fell in love with a woman from this village. I have a feeling I know who you are." My brow creased in confusion. "Raven."_

_My eyes widened as she spoke my name. How did she...?_

_"Ah... I knew your mother well, child. In fact, I have a grandson who is your age...I think you should find him and his sister. They would help you in the right direction."_

_"And how would I find them?" I was feeling closer to this woman already. She knew my parents! She knew my family! Maybe she really was right. Maybe I should listen to her and find a way to these grandchildren of hers._

_"So, you are going to look for them?" I nodded. "When you do find them, then, tell them all that I've told you. Including the fact that I'm a double, they don't know that. As a matter of fact, nobody does anymore, 'cept you. And tell them that I love them... so much. And that I will see them again as well." _

_"Alright. I will. I promise, Granny."_

_"Gran-Gran. My grand-daughter called me that, as will you from now on."_

_I nodded. "Gran-Gran, then. Thank you for everything. Now, how would I find...?"_

_"Just follow the Avatar." _

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X End Flashback (Back to third person) X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

Raven snapped out of her thoughts as realization dawned on her. She jumped up and ran back the way she had come. Tears were gone, and a smile as bright as the sun had taken its place. She had done what she was supposed to. She had fulfilled a promise.

_And_ she had a reason to talk to Katara. Hopefully it would clear some tension up. Not all of it, she knew that, but some of it.

They had something other than Zuko in common now.

Because she had a feeling, Katara and Sokka hadn't seen Gran-Gran since they had left.

* * *

**A/N: Well this is a little short... but I got inspired so I decided to write it. And I decided that was an okay spot to end it. The next chapter will be longer though... I just had to get this outta my system today. :D**

**On a semi-important note, I do realize that Gran-Gran, in the TV series, has two waterbender parents. I didn't find this out until after writing this chapter and the next, and because I don't want to change it, I ask that you wonderful readers out there just ignore that little fact. Thank you! And thanks to ****Rohain Taquil**** (did I spell that right?) for pointing that out to me. (Go read her ficcage as well!)**

**Review?**


	21. Chapter 21: Departure

**A/N: Sorry! Sorry! Arg… I'm such a hypocrite. I hate it when it takes forever for an author to create and post a new chapter, yet I take a month or so to do it as well. Sorry! Sorry! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my OCs. Thank you. **

**Rewrite: 7-7-10: Gosh **_**dang**_** I was horrible at updating quickly. *sigh* **

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**Chapter 21: Departures**

"So, Sokka, do you really think Zuko and your sister are in love with each other, like Raven said?" Kiara asked innocently.

Sokka, Kiara, and Toph were all seated on the front steps of the house. They hadn't moved since Raven's little spectacle earlier. Mostly because Katara was inside the house, Zuko was on the beach, and Raven was in the village. Sokka, Toph, and Kiara didn't want to interfere with any of them, knowing full well the extent of their tempers. So they were stuck on the front porch, trying and failing to stay un-bored.

"I don't know... but I don't think so. My sister wouldn't fall in love with that Fire-Nation, bigheaded, stuck up jerk face." Sokka responded with a straight face.

"I don't know..." Toph added her thoughts. "You _did_ see the way that those two stormed off afterwards. They were angry. I mean, if what Raven had said _weren't_ true, they would have had no reason to be that angry with her. I think they are in love." Toph leaned back on the top step.

Sokka stared at her, his face wrinkled up in thought. "I suppose you've got a point. I'm sure you would have been the same way if we had told Aang how you felt about him. Good thing I didn't say anything."

_BAM_

"Ouch! What the heck, Toph?" Sokka yelled as he nursed his swollen head where Toph had hit him hard.

"What are you talking about? How I feel about Aang? Where are you getting this garbage?" She huffed and turned her back on Sokka.

"Ty-Lee told us." Kiara supplied timidly. She didn't want to get hit in the head. Sokka looked like he was really in pain.

Toph opened her mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly, eyes widening instead. She swallowed thickly and tried again. "W-when did she tell you that?"

"Back in the village when you had gotten knocked out. You were asleep on Aang's shoulder, and Ty-Lee noticed that, so she asked if you had confessed your 'feelings' for each other. We were all confused, so then she said that you had admitted that you loved Aang—"

"_Aang __**knows**_?" Toph screamed.

There was a small minute of silence before both Sokka and Kiara nodded their heads in conformation. Toph hung her head in her hands. "Well he didn't say anything about it so obviously he doesn't feel that way about me." She frowned.

"On the contrary, I think he does." Kiara stated slowly. When Toph raised her head in confusion, she continued. "Remember when I said that I had talked to Aang before he left? Well, he said a few different things. One was how worried he was about how if he left like he did; the rest of us would have a more difficult time. The thing is, after he said that, his face turned down in worry, and he whispered something... something I don't think I was supposed to hear. I heard your name, Toph, but he said more than that. He didn't mention Katara the whole time." Kiara stared intently at the Earth-bender. "Don't give up yet, alright?"

Toph smiled softly and nodded at Kiara.

The trio swept into silence one more time, but this time it didn't last long at all.

A figure was seen running up the walkway that led to the house, huge smile in place. "Is that...?" Sokka started.

Kiara finished, "Raven?"

As said girl reached the front steps, she stopped and panted for breath. She was breathing hard from running all the way here from the river in the village. "I... have something... important...to tell you... and your sister... Sokka." Raven asked, pausing for breath every few words. "Is she still... inside the house?"

Sokka nodded solemnly.

"Well then you should come in with me. I really need to talk to the two of you about something. Something important."

"Important? How important?" Sokka asked, skeptical.

"As in, not life-threatening, but important to the point where your sister will at least listen to me." At that, Raven walked in the door to the house. Sokka got up, met the similarly confused gazes of Toph and Kiara, shrugged, and followed Raven through the doorway.

"What do you think she's talking about?" Toph asked Kiara.

"I have no idea. Probably something Waterbender oriented though. Maybe with the water-tribe in the South Pole? All three of them used to live there, right?"

"True."

"Do you really think Katara will listen though? I mean, she seemed so angry with what Raven had done…" Kiara trailed off.

"Katara may seem like a hothead …because she is… but when it comes to her family, she'll do anything to save those she cares about." Toph smiled softly.

"Well that's good, because I don't think we'll be going anywhere any time soon if Raven, Katara, and Zuko don't settle their differences somehow." Kiara frowned slightly. She then looked worriedly out to the beach. "Do you think Zuko's alright?"

"Oh he'll be just fine. If I've learned anything from this group of misfits, it's that friendships, especially _that_ strong of friendships, don't end easily. Fights between friends_ that_ close don't last too long. And they never end the friendship either. It's just a little tiff. They'll get over it sooner or later." Toph answered truthfully.

"Good, because this Island is getting old. Besides, the comet is coming soon, right?" Toph nodded. "Then we need to get ready to go help your little boyfriend…" Kiara ended with a laugh.

Toph looked about ready to strangle Kiara. Kiara would've been scared if it wasn't for the blush that betrayed Toph's angry expression. It made Kiara laugh even harder.

"He is _not_ my boyfriend!" Toph screamed.

"Sure he isn't… but you know you want him to be!" Kiara said back.

Toph was silent this time. She had no answer to that question. It was either lie or get embarrassed, so she chose neither. Kiara laughed at this silence. Toph felt her face heat up. _Well that plan backfired._

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

"Katara?"

The girl in question remained silent and still. She had been staring out the window for the past hour or so, gathering her thoughts on something that, in her opinion, she shouldn't have had to deal with so soon. The window she stood by held the perfect view of the beach down below, which is where her current thought topic supposedly hid at the moment. Katara sighed. Why, oh why did life have to be so hard on her sometimes? Why couldn't she have just stayed in the Water Tribe with the rest of her people? Why did she have to meet Aang, Toph, and the person she was currently in love with, and even the person that possibly just ruined her only chances with this so-called love? She had heard so many different tales and stories about fairy-tale happy endings and love at first sight. When she was younger, she had thought that was all reality. Every little kid, especially little girls, thought that stuff was always true. Katara sighed again. Well she knew now that that stuff was just meant for entertainment. Figures.

"Katara? Where are you?"

Good lord, was she made up of sighs today? Another one was pulled out of her throat before she answered.

"What could you possibly want me for now? Have you come to reveal another one of my personal facts to the world? Have at it." Katara plopped down on the nearest armchair as she waited for the intruder to follow her voice, hoping instead that Raven would merely go away. Tough luck. The inevitable footsteps grew louder and closer until the feet were visible in the doorway. Katara dragged her eyes upward to look at her face. Ugh, it was filled with pity.

"I need to talk to you Katara—"

Another sigh.

"You _and_ your brother. It's somewhat important." Without taking her eyes off of Katara, she seated herself on the other armchair in the room. It had been placed directly across from the one Katara was sitting in, and it forced the Waterbender to look straight at her. Perfect.

Katara opened her mouth to protest this, but closed it as soon as her brother walked into the room. He sprawled out on the couch a ways away before looking at Raven and nodding his head. "Go on." He told her.

"I told the both of you before that I was born in the Southern Water Tribe, correct?" Sokka nodded while Katara stayed stock still. "I also said that I was previously part of the Southern Raiders." Another nod from Sokka and Raven continued on. "On one of the first raids I ever did with them, I met someone. Technically, I wasn't supposed to go outside of the ship. I was only ten years old, and so I had two men assigned to watch me… like babysitters."

Raven told them the rest of her story from that day. She told them every little detail she could remember. As she finished, she noticed that she had turned her gaze out the window and was now looking down the the beach.

"She made me promise to tell you that she loved you and that she would see you both again sometime in the future. Then she told me that in order to find you, all I had to do was follow the Avatar. I had completely forgotten about Gran-Gran until—

"Don't call her that."

Raven started. She turned to look at Katara stiffly. "She said that you had always called her that, and that I was to as well. She seemed to like it much better than Granny." She smiled slightly. Katara remained stiff. Raven could tell that Katara was still surprised at her confession about Gran-Gran- it showed in her eyes. They were widened just slightly, enough to show her emotions quite nicely to Raven. She had always excelled at reading people.

Sokka on the other hand was just looking at his sister in worry-slash-pity. Raven hadn't expected the news to shock Sokka quite as much, and apparently, she was correct. Sokka was a tad bit surprised, but his concern for his sister overshadowed the interest. Raven also knew that part of Katara's anti-social-ness was due to her awkward confession earlier that evening. Well… Raven had really screwed that up hadn't she?

She took in a deep breath and let it out in a loud sigh.

"I know we have our differences. If what I said before offended you or embarrassed you or whatever, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that to either of you, but I did and I can't take it back now, so the most I can do is apologize to you, and that's what I'm trying to do right now. It's your choice whether to accept it, but just let me say that this fight with Azula and the Fire Lord will go a lot more smoothly if we can at least partially get along."

Katara stayed silent, her eyes downcast to the floor at her feet. She swallowed visibly. The nod of her head that followed was almost imperceptible to the human eye, but Raven caught it.

"Thank you. As for what we were arguing about in the first place, I propose that we both go."

Sokka sat there confused and lost. He no longer caught on to what the girls were saying. Oh, how slow the teenage boy's mind is these days.

Katara, on the other hand, looked up sharply at Raven's face. She met her eyes. "What about the other group?" She asked hesitantly.

"I think they'll be fine, right Sokka?"

"Wait, what?"

Katara and Raven both sighed.

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

Pacing had always worked before. This time just had to be different.

His feet got tired too quickly, the setting sun blinded his eyes every time he turned around to start back the other way, and his mind just wouldn't stop going into overdrive. So he tried a different tactic.

He found the rock he had been sitting on the night before when they were all around the campfire. When he sat down, he realized that the tide had risen drastically. From where he was sitting, he could almost touch the waterline as it washed up to its farthest point on a wave. Aang, Toph, and Katara would have been underwater.

He felt another pang in his chest. A sigh flowed out from his mouth. Was there no end to his constant thinking about her? Good lord, how the heck was he going to face her later? He about hyperventilated every time her face showed up in his mind, and he shuddered to think how he might react to seeing her physically any time soon.

Forget the near future, what was he going to do about Raven's little unwanted confession on his part? How would Katara react?

He had a feeling he already knew the answer to that question. She hated him. Plain and simple. She had since the beginning.

This would probably just make it even worse, and that's exactly why he hadn't wanted to tell her how he felt in the first place. She would just end up giving him the cold shoulder later on, and that would be hard for him to handle. It would be even worse than having her yell at him constantly. And that was saying something.

But, he thought, who would he rather go with to fight Azula? He knew he couldn't face his sister alone, but going with either of them might cause some sort of problem. Katara would be hard to concentrate with, and Raven would just end up fighting with him and their teamwork would be way off. Neither sounded like a good choice, but he had to choose one. Right?

Zuko looked up at the setting sun and squinted at the bright light. It was about over the horizon, and the reds and yellows of the surrounding sky looked beautiful. He sighed again. He supposed ultimately that the choice would be up to him, who he took with him, so whom would he choose?

That's when it hit him. He could bring them both! That way he didn't have to bother choosing.

Standing up at the sudden idea, he turned at headed back towards the house. He could face them. Of course he could. He was the prince of the Fire-Nation. He could handle this! _I think._

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

They crossed paths on the steps leading up to the front door. Ironically, it meant that all of them, including Kiara and Toph, were together again.

"I have an idea." Zuko stated firstly. He wouldn't look at Raven or Katara's faces. His eyes were directed towards the front door, then the steps at his feet, then the front door, and back again, flickering. He wanted to look at one of them, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"So do we." Katara replied. She, on the other hand, had her eyes trained on Zuko's and was trying to get him to look at her.

Raven stood off to the side, watching the both of them. She would have replied, but she didn't feel right standing there with them both. She already intruded once, and she wouldn't make the mistake of doing it again. Not this soon anyways. She thought it best to just let Katara tell him their plan. Besides, Zuko would probably listen better to Katara than her at the moment. She was pretty sure Zuko held his grudges for a long while, and it hadn't been long enough for him to relax and/or calm down to forgive her completely.

She didn't even feel like forgiving herself.

"I say you both come with me."

"I say we both come with you."

Katara and Zuko spoke at the same time. In result, both faces immediately turned a bright shade of red. Kiara giggled. Sokka gave an almost imperceptible smile. Raven turned her head in order to hide the small smile that had hatched on her face as well.

Zuko cleared his throat before speaking again. "So, we agree then?" Katara and Raven both nodded small. Katara smiled up at Zuko, catching his eye for the first time. Zuko was surprised, but he smiled back. He had still thought that Katara would be mad about the confession, but he was proven wrong.

"So, off we go then?" Kiara asked. "I figure you three will be taking Appa?"

"Yes. I think it would be better if we got to Azula first. That way we can get there sooner, and then come find the rest of you when it's over. Who knows how much help you're going to need, if any?" Raven replied smoothly.

"And… what about Aang?" Toph asked quietly.

Everyone's eyes involuntarily landed on Kiara. She had been the last one to see him, so everyone looked to her for the answer to the question. She sighed. "He'll show up. Even he doesn't find what he's looking for. He knows the importance of this fight, and he won't let us down. I swear."

Katara voiced her agreement, and Toph did as well.

After a few minutes of silence, they all stood.

"Well… this may be the end, I suppose."

"Don't think like that Sokka!" Kiara screamed at him. "This will be the best adventure all of us have ever been on. And when we come back, we'll all have stories to tell each other. After, it will all be over! No more fighting! All that will be left is happiness, friendship, and good times! Our whole lives are ahead of us!" She slung an arm around Raven's shoulder. "Right, Raven?"

Raven smiled faintly, eyes downcast. "Right." She happened to look up and catch Zuko's eye. Her eyes put on a sorrowful tone, and soon her gaze cast off to the setting sun behind him on the beach. Her faint smile stayed in place, but she was oblivious to the matching one on Zuko's face.

"A good beginning! A brand new beginning to a wonderful new story, which has all of us together as one big happy, non-violent family!" Kiara released Raven and instead ran over to hug Sokka. She looked up at his face and smiled a big, happy smile. "So don't think pessimistic thoughts!"

Sokka couldn't help but smile back. "Okay fine. No endings. Good—"

"No goodbyes, either!"

"Alright! See you soon then! Does that work?" Sokka asked exasperatedly.

Kiara nodded and released him.

A few hugs were exchanged, mostly on Katara's part. Her brother held on to her for quite a long time, as did Toph.

They were finished all too soon, it seemed, and with a few final waves, the trios parted off on their separate journeys.

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

**A/N: My life has been hectic. Stupid honors teachers giving out humongous research projects at the very beginning of the year! AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG! (Excuse my venting.) Other than that, I've been hit with the most annoying pinch of writer's block. Does anyone have a cure for that? Because that would be **_**insanely **_**lovely. **

**Review?**


	22. Chapter 22: A Losing Battle

**A/N: This is the second to last chapter. Plus an epilogue after that. Should be anyway. I don't own…. On with it. I'm just going to shut up until this entire story is over. Seriously. Lastly, though… these last few chapters may seem rushed to you, because I have lost most of my interest in the story. Sorry, guys.**

**Rewrite: 7-7-10: 11:19pm: Well let's see here. Hello again! :D Beware of the still-rushed feel in some parts. Sorry about that. Maybe I'll do a re-rewrite in the far along future and make those parts lengthy. Haha… **

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**Chapter 22: A Losing Battle**

_Well, this isn't awkward at all. _Raven, Zuko, and Katara all had the same thoughts. As soon as they had gotten on Appa, the three had fallen into silence.

It wouldn't take that long to get to the Fire Nation palace, which was where they had decided to look first. Most everyone would likely be out fighting with the Fire Lord, so the three of them didn't have too much to worry about. They should be able to just barge in and do their business. The only down-side to the plan was that Azula might not be there as well. If she wasn't, then they will have wasted some precious time. They didn't have much of a choice anymore.

Worries and hesitation were rushing through all three of their heads. The same worries- death, injury, and failure- were present. Hesitation and a lack of knowledge on what they would actually do made them jittery and easily distracted.

Appa was practically flying himself. He gave a small noise to alert his riders to something in the distance.

Raven snapped to attention when the silence was broken suddenly. "What is it, Appa?" She asked the bison quietly. Looking forward, Raven could sort of make out an outline of something on the horizon, and whatever it was, it was coming up quick. Not recognizing the shape as an island or building at all, she told Appa, "Fly a little higher, boy. Use the clouds as some cover."

The bison listened to her, ascending quite quickly.

The outline came into clear view sooner than expected, and Raven was glad that she had told Appa to go up when she did. The outline was of a ship. A Fire Nation Ship. And as it came closer, the outline grew and grew, producing more and more ships fanning out across the ocean line.

The three riders on Appa all widened their eyes. Sokka, Toph, and Kiara couldn't take all of these down themselves! There was way too many! Raven was about to voice her concern , but Katara interrupted her before she could get a word out.

"I've seen my brother get through so much trouble. He knows how to think on the spot. They can handle it just fine." Her words were strong, and her facial expression held absolutely no fear for her brother and his companions. Raven and Zuko calmed down a tad from this. Katara obviously knew her brother better than the two of them, so if she wasn't scared for him, then neither should they be. "I only wish we could tell them somehow."

Appa flew silently over the oblivious ships and farther on towards the Fire Nation. The time drawled on as it had before.

"We couldn't be too much farther. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Katara voiced.

Zuko merely nodded.

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

The ships were large. The ships were many.

But the ships were slow, and it gave them enough time to stop them before they burned down the entire world that stood in their way.

Now, the three of them stood off to the side as they watched their friend fight one of the most terrifying beasts on the face of the earth. The Fire Lord surely wasn't giving up, and it seemed as though he wasn't even giving Aang his all, yet, either. Aang was already having a harder time than he thought he would. He was constantly loosing his footing, his balance, and being thrown against the nearest pile of rock and stone. His attempts to fight back were feeble and weaker than he was used to, and he all around wasn't playing at his best. Not nearly. Sokka, Kiara, and Toph were screaming in their heads. They wanted to help, but they knew they would just get in the way. Besides, this was Aang's fight.

Sokka was injured anyways. His fall from one of the ship's tall masts had twisted his leg sharply, leaving it impossible to walk on. He was currently leaning on Kiara, whom was the one that had saved both him and Toph from imminent death merely five minutes before hand. She said that she would help bandage his leg later on, but now wasn't the opportune time.

They were all too caught up in watching the fight going on above them. Neither fighter knew they were there and watching. Aang would just end up getting distracted and worry. The Fire Lord would probably run after them and attack them to get to Aang, and that wasn't a good thing when they were vulnerable. Sokka would bite the dust in seconds, and he valued his life more than that.

Toph was in the middle of having a nervous breakdown, but showed no outward signs of her troubles. Due to Aang's constant air-bending, Toph could barely keep track of the boy as he flew around dodging the Fire Lord's attacks. These were the times where she cursed her eyes indefinitely. She would give anything to be able to see at that moment. The only times she could truthfully 'see' Aang were when he collided with a stone face after an attack from the Fire Lord. That wasn't any better than the times where she had to guess whether he was flying through the air from a fall of some sort, or just dodging attacks with those Twinkletoes of his. The times where she couldn't 'see' him.

She wanted to help. So badly, she wanted to help, but she knew that she would be of no use no matter what she did. So she sat and listened instead. Listened and hoped that the fight would be over soon, and that the Fire Lord would be killed, and that Aang would come up to her afterwards with his head held high and tell her he loved her and that he did it all for her and that he wanted to marry her and live the rest of his life with her and then kiss her and all would be hunky-dory. Life didn't work that way. Hunky-dory never happened. Never. Never.

_Happy endings are too cliché_. Toph thought to herself as she put her rambling aside for the moment._ I'll never be happy like that. Aang is gonna die and I'll have to go back to Ba Sing Sae with my parents and live a life as some princess who never gets to see the world again._

"Toph."

The little earth-bender girl shot her head up at the sudden whisper of her name. She faced her head towards the other two. Sokka still seemed focused on the fight.

She spoke in a slow whisper. "You know that Aang will be alright. So stop mulling over pessimistic things, okay?" With a quick Kiara smile, the white-haired girl turned her head back towards Sokka and the fight, hugging the boy closer to her.

Toph stared blankly, frozen for another moment, before turning back to where she had been before. How is it that girl could read her mind? She seemed to always know what everyone else had been thinking. For once, Toph was glad of that uncanny ability of hers. It had made her double-think herself.

What was she thinking, having no faith in Aang? Aang was the master of finding a way to end things with peace and with as little violence as possible. He would find a way out of this, and he would win! No matter what it took.

Toph smiled small and focused back on the fight before her. Her thoughts now only consisted of confidence for her friend.

_You can do this Aang!_

_**X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X-x-x-x-X**_

Their shoes made a rough clacking noise as they jumped down form Appa's backside onto the hard concrete ground beneath them. The pathway that led up to the palace was riddled with torches, columns, and brick walls surrounding it. Elegance was a main factor around this place. It practically dripped form the walls.

Raven threw a wistful glance around the area. "How long has it been since I've set foot in this place?" She huffed. "How about since I've been to the Fire Nation at all?" She looked back towards Appa and set him off to hide or something, telling him playfully to stay out of trouble.

The city had been literally abandoned, so they had nothing to strongly worry about at the moment. There were only a few women and children around the streets, but they all fled back into their homes at the sight of the three newcomers.

"Where is everyone?" Katara asked in a whisper. She had that feeling you get when you walk into a quiet place and your voice automatically drops into a whisper, without your consent.

Zuko obviously didn't have that same feeling. He spoke in a normal voice, but it sounded deafeningly loud against the silence. "Off to fight with my father and the rest of the army most likely. That, or just to inhabit some new place we've planned to take over."

"Don't say 'we' like that, Zuko. You and me don't count anymore, remember?" Raven commented in a voice louder than Katara's, but much softer than Zuko's. She sounded wistful still, as if she was talking in a memory of some sort. She looked up at the front door of the palace towards which they were heading. "What do you say about the garden?"

"What about it?" Zuko asked her.

"I'm trying to think of a good place to fight your sister. We don't want to do it in the house, since obviously we'd run the risk of it collapsing or something drastic like that. So how about the garden? Or maybe the courtyard instead…" She trailed off in thought, still staring at the palace.

"The courtyard. The garden has too many memories to burn it down to ashes."

Raven's mouth turned up slightly at the corners. "I agree. The courtyard it is."

"We have to find her first. No rushing into things." Zuko told her.

"Of course, of course. Impulsiveness isn't a good thing." She tossed a pointed look over her shoulder to Zuko. "You remember that too, alright? She'll just want to provoke you into making the wrong decision, or acting without thinking here. Keep your head straight, okay."

Zuko nodded his head, his eyes focused on the palace doors in front of them. He took a deep breath and walked forward. Zuko pushed them open slowly, as if he was scared of breaking something on the other side, or the doors themselves. The entryway behind the doors was deserted just like the rest of the village. The silence here, though, was normal.

Zuko and Raven walked calmly through the doors and into the hallway, their heads held high. Katara followed them, a little put off, and feeling out of place with the two of them. For a few moments, she felt as though she really truly didn't belong here. That this 'mission' so to speak was not hers to take part in. That she would just get in the way. Zuko turned around to check that she was still following. He had a small smile on his face when they met eyes. The third wheel feeling she had disappeared.

Raven still looked wistful as she glanced around the walls and ceiling. Zuko and Katara walked past her a little farther into the building. As Katara passed her, the water-bender thought she heard her whispering to herself.

"Welcome home, Raven."

Katara was about to open her mouth to respond to the statement, when they all heard a sudden noise of impact from farther down the palace hallway. It was followed by a grunt and yet another impact. Raven and Katara's heads whipped to the end of the hall.

There she stood, eyes blazing, hair up but bangs framing her face, smirk set in stone, and hands on her hips.

Zuko was sitting below her, on his hands and knees, having just been thrown down to the ground by the woman in front of him. He had been extremely caught off guard. His sister had come out of nowhere and kicked him. Hard. In the gut, propelling him face first into the cement floor tiles below. He heard Azula's sickening laugh from somewhere above him. The attack had made him momentarily dizzy, and he still didn't have his sense of balance correct. He tried to stand, but only succeeding in making it up to his knees. Great. Now he was kneeling in front of her. Maybe she wouldn't make any snide comment…

"Much better Zuzu! Now you're kneeling to me. The new Fire Lord of this pathetic country!"

"The new Fire Lord? What are you talking about, crazy girl?" Raven seemed unfazed by Azula's sudden appearance. "Then who would be fighting Aang?"

"My father of course. The Phoenix King! The supreme ruler of all nations!" Azula yelled out triumphantly.

"And just when I thought your family couldn't get any more modest…" Raven mumbled under her breath. Katara faintly smiled at the comment, but her main focus was on the boy crumpled down at Azula's feet. _Get up Zuko! Fight!_

As if hearing Katara's thoughts, the Fire nation prince finally found the strength to stand. Azula calmly watched the scene.

Katara looked around quickly to assess their surroundings. There didn't seem to be any water around them. That meant she had to be careful and use the amount she had in her canteen sparingly. She looked to Raven to relay the information, only to find that the girl was already looking back at her.

Raven whispered quietly. "There's water that runs from the ocean through the village. There are grates on the ground in the courtyard, and it rushes under there. We just have to make sure to lead the fight out there. And quickly too."

Katara nodded. It sure helped to have an ally with knowledge of the surroundings. Very helpful. She turned back to Zuko and Azula. Zuko had almost made it fully to his feet. As soon as he straightened out, Azula's fist reached back and begun to glow with the infamous bluish hue. She looked ready to strike. Her fist came around and headed towards Zuko at a swift pace.

He barely dodged in time to save from being knocked out. He didn't escape in time to avoid a deep, burning scratch on his cheek. It stood out on his scar, a pulsing, dark red line. It started to bleed. He placed his hand over it immediately to try and ease the pain, if only just a little. He winced as he did so. Zuko ran back to the other two, and the whole group averted themselves outside into the courtyard, Azula close on their heels.

"Are you running away? _Cowards_!" Azula screamed at their retreating backs. Katara put her hands up to Zuko's face as she was running. Her hands began to glow fiercely, desperately trying to heal the new formed cut on his face. She managed to stop the bleeding, but nothing else was possible at the time being. She would have to finish later on. When this was over. If they all made it out that is. _Don't think that, Katara! _Her thoughts screamed at her. She shook her head repeatedly, focusing back on the task at hand. Azula had caught up to them. She was now throwing her massive fireballs at them.

Zuko's yell caught them all off guard. "_Stop_!"

Azula listened. He arms rested at her sides. She raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Zuzu?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

He took a deep breath. "Agni Kai. I challenge you to an Agni Kai."

Raven gasped from beside Katara. "Zuko! You idiot! What do you think you're accomplishing by doing by this alone? She's just trying to separate us! Don't let her—"

Zuko shushed her. She looked a bit betrayed, but listened and backed off. Her frown turned into a scowl, and a disappointed look overtook her face. She took Katara's arm and walked a ways away. Katara just looked worried and scared for them both.

Azula nodded. "Your loss, big brother." She smirked. "This will be over quickly."

The siblings each took to their respective ends of the courtyard, kneeling for a few moments to gather thoughts and plan their strategy. They stood at the same time, faced each other, and took their bending stances.

Azula started it off, sending a large blast of blue fire over towards her brother. The blast took up the whole width of the area, causing Raven to pull Katara back even farther to dodge. Zuko retaliated quite nicely with a large blast of his own, mixing together the fires in the middle in a large color show. The blows continued as was.

"It's beautiful you know." Katara snapped her head over to Raven as the double girl spoke to nobody in particular. "In its own, twisted way." Katara nodded silently, staring at the girl for a few moments longer, then turning back to the fight in front of her.

Azula was trying everything she could think of to catch Zuko off guard again, but she was failing horribly. As she went to send another blast, Zuko forced his quicker, and Azula was thrown back. She rolled in a few circles before coming to a stop on her stomach. She pushed herself up slowly, Zuko waiting patiently.

"That's it!" She screamed at him. She had a wilder look in her eye that almost made her look crazy. Like she had lost her mind or something. "I am _ending this_ once and _for __**all**_!" She brought her hands around and around in circles and shapes, building up energy as the bluish hue started to glow around her body. _Lightning._ Katara noticed. _She's going to use her lightning!_

The blue around her was crackling now, ready and willing, begging it seemed, to go out for its target. To be released from her hands. It charged up, higher and higher. Menacingly high. All the while, Zuko merely stood there, hands at the ready. Ready to redirect it as it came.

But when Azula lowered her hands and the lightning came shooting out, it was not directed at Zuko.

Katara froze. It was coming for her. There was no way… how could she… she wouldn't be able to escape it! This was it. All she could see was the lightning coming for her, and nothing else. Was this how Zuko had felt when this same situation happened a few days ago at the island? Was he so frozen? The feeling of falling… wait. Falling?

She could see the sky now. She was facing upwards, towards the sky. She didn't feel harmed at all either. She shot up to a sitting position. Zuko! _No_!

The boy was laying a few feet away, on his back with the sparks radiating off of him. He had redirected it. He had jumped in front of her to redirect it! He saved her! He looked injured, and hurt, and in pain, and that was all Katara could think about. She crawled towards him, ready to heal him quickly, but Raven grabbed her and hauled her up before she got the chance. "Listen, Katara. I know you want to help him. But we have our own lives to worry about right this second, ok? I need you to help me. Azula's gone all crazy, and I really don't want to do this alone." She spoke in a hushed, rushed voice.

Katara threw another glance at Zuko before she nodded. They stood side by side, facing the girl. The Princess. The Fire Lord.

Azula cast them a long glance before beginning her attack anew. They dodged, they fought back, and they worked together. For the most part. Katara still hadn't forgiven her. Raven knew that. She could tell. When Raven deflected an attack form hitting her, she didn't show as much gratitude as she normally would have shown. She also didn't reciprocate. Raven was stuck defending her and herself from Azula's attacks. Raven had half a mind to leave her on her own for a moment and see if she could really handle herself, but she knew she wouldn't have done that even if she tried. She cared too much for Zuko. Zuko cared too much for Katara, and Raven didn't want Zuko to loose anything that precious to him.

That meant when it came to the decision whether or not to use _that_ power… she went against another promise.

Azula had the upper hand. Raven was beginning to loose her energy from the extra weight she had to pull protecting Katara. Katara was getting tired, period. Azula was beginning to wear them down. A particularly big blast knocked the two girls down on their backs, both of them letting out groans of pain. Raven was the first to stand back up, albeit slowly. She was on one knee when Azula started walking calmly towards them.

Raven stood up fully, and walked to stand in between Azula and Katara, shielding the Water-bender. Raven was breathing heavy, tired and almost wasted. She cast a glance over to Zuko, who was now struggling to sit up, looking at her with wide, frightened eyes. She gave him a small smile. The smile that he loved to see.

He knew what she was going to do. "No! Raven, what are you thinking? You'll _kill_ yourself!" He strained to yell, but she heard it loud and clear.

She had one chance, and one option left to keep her two friends alive. All those years ago, Gran-Gran had made her promise never to use the power again, as it was hard to keep under control. She could either loose it and kill everyone here, or she could confine it to herself and Azula, which was her plan. Gran-Gran had also said that the power was hazardous to her own health, and that it could kill her immediately after using it. The power could backfire, but it was her last option. She had to.

She murmured a quick, "I'm sorry," to nobody in particular. Her hands clasped in front of her and she closed her eyes gently. For a split second, it looked as though she may have been praying. Raven took a deep, steadying breath. As she let it out, her arms outstretched to her sides, and the air around her began to move.

Azula took a step back as a wind pushed her from the front. She stared in horror as the electricity formed around Raven. Frowning, she steadied herself and took a large shot at the girl in front of her. As the fireball came nearer to its target, it shrunk until it was merely the size of a pebble, the flame surrounding it gone. Azula widened her eyes in exaggerated horror, her scowl disappearing and an open jaw replacing it. She was scared out of her wits.

Katara opened her eyes to an amazing view. Raven had been standing in front of her. She had heard the 'I'm sorry' and had wondered what exactly was going on. Katara's first thought was that Raven was speaking to her, and that she had decided to betray them again and kill her. That idea is what made her open her eyes and sit up. She wasn't expecting to see Raven faced the other way, eyes closed, arms outstretched, hair whipping around her shoulders, and blue lightning sparking, circling, and… _flowing_ around her. That wasn't lightning, that was water! The water was flowing around her, and the lightning seemed to be jumping around her. They were revolving around her as the moon revolved around the earth. Or how the earth revolved around the sun.

Azula was backing away slowly, mesmerized, but scared for her life and worried that something bad... Really bad was going to happen. As she took yet another step back, she stopped still. Frozen. Raven's eyes had opened, staring straight at her with a mismatched gaze. Azula literally couldn't move.

_Is she using… blood bending, again? But she isn't in the stance…_ Katara wondered.

Raven's arms slowly made their way towards the front of her body, seeming to pull all of the revolving elements with them. As they came to the front, they changed direction and began to move in, towards her heart. The elements came with her hands. They flowed right into her chest, disappearing.

Katara and Azula stared in wonder. Was that it? Zuko had his eyes clenched tightly shut. He knew what was coming. He knew better.

Raven closed her eyes once more. She took in a deep breath. Her hands turned, palms facing away from her body. She released her breath and pushed. The result was catastrophic. The elements this time seemed to rush all from her at once, straight towards Azula.

It was over in a split second. Katara blinked, and it was gone.

Azula had been blown backwards, and she now lay face down on the other side of the courtyard. Raven stood where she had been standing, a blank look on her face. Zuko was standing, looking more scared than Katara had ever seen him, and running with great difficulty towards Raven. He looked as though he was in pain, but it didn't seem to faze him. Or stop him from running.

Katara didn't know what was wrong. Azula was defeated. Raven had won. They had won. Why was it that Zuko was so scared?

Before Zuko reached them, Katara got her answer.

Raven coughed once. Than twice. The third brought her to her knees, holding her stomach. She didn't stay there long. She collapsed onto her side in mere seconds. Motionless.

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**Review?**


	23. Chapter 23: Never Forgotten

**A/N: Dear Lord.**

**Rewrite: 7-7-10: 11:26pm: Wow. That author's note was short and sweet, now wasn't it? Lol XD Stupid grammar, why do you despise me so? **

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She couldn't be dead. Could she?

_No. _

Zuko reached her as soon as she collapsed onto her side. He rolled her onto her back and sat there, staring at her. Simply staring for the longest time. Her eyes were shut, her mouth was open just barely, and her face was growing paler by the second.

She wasn't dead. She was dying.

Katara suddenly felt the urge to cry. _For what?_ She asked herself. _The girl was just a traitor anyways. She betrayed not only your secrets, but Zuko's as well. She didn't deserve to be—_ The water-bender cut off her own thoughts before they drug her down the wrong path. Even she wouldn't be that cold. Everyone deserved to live. The girl had been protecting her and Zuko by doing what she did. Azula had been stronger than they had originally thought, and with Zuko injured, they were having an extremely tough time keeping up. Raven had gone to an extreme, but it had been the only winning option left.

She had sacrificed herself for them, and here Katara sat thinking, even for just that split second, that the girl hadn't deserved to live. She was ashamed, extremely ashamed, and that made her urge to cry grow stronger, until she couldn't hold back a tear any longer. It rolled down her face slowly, the only one to escape, and made its own path straight down from the corner of her eye to the bottom of her chin, dripping off onto the concrete ground beneath her. The resounding 'plop' it made seemed to bounce off of the ground and columns around her, making it the only thing she could hear at that moment.

Zuko heard it too, either that or he had sensed Katara's unhappiness. His head slowly turned to look at her, and Katara saw the sorrow reflected back at her own eyes. It was mutual, yes, but Katara knew that Zuko's was far worse. She crawled over to him and sat by his side, Zuko's eyes watching her warily as she moved, as if afraid that she would all of a sudden collapse and wither away as well. When she reached him, her head fell casually to his shoulder, resting there.

"I'm sorry." She spoke, although the words were not necessary. He jolted upright to stand. His sudden movements made her think that perhaps she should not have said anything. He stood for a few seconds, then looked over his shoulder towards his sister, who was still laying on the ground farther down the pathway. He began to make his way over to her.

Katara sat in silence once more. She watched patiently as Zuko looked over his sister, assessing the damage. Would he rather her be alive or dead, she wondered. Dead so that they would no longer need to worry about her at all. She would be out of their way, no longer causing any semblance of trouble. Alive, though, she could simply be put into jail or something, and that way Zuko wouldn't have a chance to live with the guilt of being the cause for a dead sister. He must love her somewhat, right? She was family. Would he be even saddened in the least if he found her dead? She had caused them so much grief in the past few days. Weeks. Months.

It had been so long since their journey had started. And now, as it came to a close, and as she watched Zuko sigh and look up into the night sky, she couldn't help but look up as well. She couldn't help looking up at the stars and wondering how this had all begun.

What was going to happen next?

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Toph, Sokka, and Kiara simply stared as they watched Aang suck the power out of the used-to-be Fire Lord. The avatar had almost been overtaken by the Fire bender's power before, but he managed to pull through, his bright light shining out and shattering the red that had threatened to overtake the world not seconds beforehand. When the boy released him, the once powerful man immediately collapsed to the side like deadweight.

How was it over this quickly? All of that build-up, the months of fighting and struggles, just to end like this? How did all of the things they had been through, the friendships and enemies they had made, the choices they were forced to make in the past, led to this?

After all of the casualties. After all of the people the Fire Lord had killed, for no reason, innocent people he had killed that had no more chances. People that didn't deserve to be killed were killed, and yet he, the killer, got a second chance at life?

Kiara herself began to wonder why it had ended like this. She was proud of Aang for choosing to do it how he did, but she still felt that dissatisfaction somewhere deep down inside of her gut. A dissatisfaction that would have only been satisfied if it saw the Fire Lord himself die. If she saw him go through the pain and torture that he had caused for other people. For her race. For the people that she stood next to now. But if that part of her were satisfied, there would be countless other parts of her, the rest of her, which would be unhappy.

Toph was the first to reach Aang after the boy had collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. She kneeled next to him and draped herself over the boy, hugging him to her tightly as if she was afraid he would simply turn into ashes and fly away like dust in the wind. For a few tense seconds, the three of them all thought that same thought. The boy looked worn and torn, fatigued and broken. For a split second, he had looked dead.

So when he cracked his eyes open and gave that innocent little smile, they all sighed in relief.

He groaned a bit, tired and even slightly pained at the exertion he had gone through the past few hours, but that smile still stayed put stubbornly. Was it from the win he had just had? Or perhaps the relief that the fight was finally over? The girl hugging him close might have even had something to do with his giddiness and glee.

The two of them stood, Aang leaning most of his weight on Toph, unable to hold his own for the time being. Sokka and Kiara took their turns giving him a hug. Then they gave each other hugs. They shouted out their happiness to the sky and anyone who could hear them. The war was over!

Sokka and Kiara stood off to the side next to the broken down man at their feet, laughing and making jokes at his now extremely feeble form. Aang, still smiling his grand smile, turned to the girl holding his weight and spoke. The girl gasped in shock, then smiled as she turned to the boy. Reaching up to touch his face, as she could not see, she leaned in and kissed him gently. As she pulled away, she spoke the same words as he had said before.

His smile grew.

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Never had she seen him shed a tear. At least, not that she had remembered at this moment. It had started with one, slowly falling and dropping off of his chin onto the ground, resounding with the same forceful noise that hers had made previously. Even Zuko himself had seemed surprised by the tear's appearance. He brought his hand up to his face only to pull it away after feeling the streak of wetness that the tear had left behind on his cheek. He stared at his hand for a moment before scowling and tossing his head up towards the sky again, as if daring the rest of his tears to defy gravity and fall down.

Zuko's attempt was half-hearted, for within seconds the Fire bender fell to his knees. He put his head in his hands, and Katara witnessed, for the first time, Zuko crumbling.

She didn't know what to do, or what to say, should she say anything. She was helpless to do anything to help him. It killed her.

She tore her eyes away from Zuko and instead looked at one of the reasons for his pain. She was still sitting next to Raven, who had long since grown cold and pale, white as a sheet. Or a ghost. She would probably be a ghost by now, Katara thought. Katara believed in ghosts. People who died had to go somewhere, right? Their souls couldn't just wither away and die! What would be the point in living if you knew that when you died you just disappeared off the face of the world, as if you never existed?

Well that wasn't true, she supposed. People back on earth would remember you, would cherish you still, just as Zuko would remember Raven, she was sure of it. It would never be as though she had never existed. No one would forget her. Katara knew she wouldn't. There was no way.

Katara shuffled over closer to the girl lying motionless on the hard ground. She hesitantly placed her hand on Raven's and sighed deeply, shivering from the cold feeling.

"I'm sorry." She felt compelled to speak. As if the girl could hear her now. "I shouldn't have shunned you like I did. What was I? Jealous. I suppose that's the word." Katara didn't know what she was doing. Her mouth was moving of its own accord, apologizing and spewing out nonsense to a girl who wouldn't ever know what she was saying. "You came out of nowhere, just appeared, and you were so close to him all of the time. You knew him better than I did. He knew you, he cared about you, and… and he loved you, and I guess I just wanted that to be me. I wanted it too much, and so I didn't even give you a chance. Aang and Sokka and Toph and Kiara, and… oh god. You could all be gone, and I haven't even thought about them. Now you're gone for good, and I wish you weren't, because he's never going to be the same now that you aren't here anymore. Now that he's lost you, I don't know what to do to make him stop being sad…" She trailed off as she became blinded by her own tears. She let go and raised her hands to wipe away the tears on her face. Realizing that they wouldn't stop, she once again grasped wildly for the girl's hand, turning it over so they were palm to palm. She shifted a tad bit more.

That's when it hit her. She hadn't thought about it before, but now that it hit her, full force, her eyes widened in shock and fear.

"ZUKO!"

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**A/N: ****A/N: The Aang Gang parts are a little rushed, but I don't want to spend too much time on those, because they aren't the main focus of the story. Mostly, the storyline **_**there **_**fits with the storyline in the actual show. Other than a few added things. (Such as the group watching his fight, and the Toph/Aang kiss.)**

**This is a really short chapter, but I'm proud of it. *****sigh* somewhat….**

**Review?**


	24. Epilogue: A Memorable Visit

**A/N: Oh. My. God. It's OVER! Hallelujah! So… finally, I get to say this!**

**I hope you enjoy the last and final chapter of Lost, but Never Forgotten. The Epilogue begins! I was debating whether or not to make it really happy or not. Well… I'm not the biggest fan of sad endings, so that debate ended rather quickly. :D**

**Rewrite: 7-7-10: 11:45pm: I need to go to bed. Why am I doing this, again? Nothing but grammar and spelling, still. Woo-Hoo, last chapter! **

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_Sokka was the one who started laughing first. Then Raven, from the absurdity of it all, then Zuko. Seeing Zuko laugh made Katara smile. And Aang and Toph joined in sooner or later. _

_The laughter was a good end to the night. A good end to the story. It washed away the doubt, the sadness, and the pain. If only for a little while. _

_That night was the one not every member of that circle ever forgot. It was the moment that they all shared the same feeling. Together. _

_Because together, for this group, never seemed to last long enough. _

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"_Whoa." Sokka was the only one to speak. "Your eyes... are... like..." He paused for a moment as if thinking of the right word to describe them. "Multicolored!" _

_Raven's slight frown deepened into a scowl. She rolled her eyes before looking at him. "Very original." She drawled. _

_Sokka carried on as if she hadn't spoken at all. "That's... so... cool!" _

_Raven looked to Zuko. "And you hang out with these people?" She asked, skeptical. _

_He smiled wryly. "I didn't say they all had a genius IQ. And I didn't say I liked them all." _

"_Hey!" Sokka yelled angrily at him. _

_Raven just laughed. Zuko smile turned into a real one as he heard the sound._

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"_When I told you to try it."_

"_And I tried. And when that fire lit up—" _

"_You blamed me. You thought I was playing games with you and tricking you into thinking you had really Fire-bended." Zuko had a slight frown on his face, but laughter flickered in his eyes. _

"_And so I made you stand in front of me when I did it again, so I could watch to see if you moved. And..."_

"_I didn't move. You looked so shocked, and even a little bit scared. But then you burst out into the biggest smile I had ever seen. Then you kept doing it over and over again until your dad got home. And when he walked through that door—"_

"_I ran around to the door and showed him the lit candle."_

"_He had no idea what you meant. All you were doing was waving the candle in front of his face yelling. He looked so bewildered and confused. And you looked like a nutcase." Zuko smiled again._

_Raven laughed. "Hey... I'm no nutcase." She sounded scolding. _

"_You used to—" _

"_We both used to be." The two laughed at each other_

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"_I can't even begin to believe what you see in that girl. She's stubborn, annoying, bossy, and has absolutely no consideration in my opinion. I mean—"_

"_Wait... wait a minute... you think I like Katara?"_

"_Funny how you knew I was talking about her." She said under her breath. Then replied. "No. That's preposterous Zuko. You don't like Katara..."_

"_Exactly"_

"_You Looooove her!" _

"_Exactly. W-wait! No!" _

"_Hahaha! You love her, you love her!" Raven darted down the hallway towards the kitchen, singing out the words like a little kid._

"_Shut up Raven! Be quiet! Stop that!" Zuko chased her desperately, grabbing at her and trying to cover her mouth, but Raven was too fast, and she dodged his attacks. "She'll hear you!"_

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_"This will be the best adventure all of us have ever been on." Kiara spoke. "And when we come back, we'll all have stories to tell each other. After, it will all be over! No more fighting! All that will be left is happiness, friendship, and good times! Our whole lives are ahead of us!" She slung an arm around Raven's shoulder. "Right, Raven?" _

_Raven smiled faintly, eyes downcast. "Right." _

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**"We were inseparable, to put it lightly."**

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_**(5 Months Later)**_

"Uncle."

"Yes, Zuko?"

"I think maybe I'd like to go visit the Southern Water Tribe for a while."

"It's been a few months. Has it not?"

"…" A small, wistful smile was all that needed to be communicated between the two. Iroh got up from his chair and walked out the door to begin making some preparations. It was not every day that the Fire Lord planned to take this big of a trip away from his nation.

The Fire Lord in question was sitting on his own chair, staring out of the window to his right. He had been constantly active, whether it was traveling to another nation (never the one he wanted to go to), making his numerous speeches, listening to the complaints of the townsfolk (whiners, he called the worst of them. The ones who complained about the simplest of things. They didn't know hardship as much as he did), or doing endless paperwork. As of now, he had no plans for the next few days. He planned to make the most of it and go where he had been hoping to go ever since the war had ended and the others had left for their home. The South Pole was inviting as ever. He wouldn't have anything else prevent him from leaving this time.

There was a knock on his door.

He glanced over at it. "Enter." He spoke swiftly.

It was Ty-Lee. "Planning to leave soon? I heard you have a break." She smiled big at her newest friend.

Zuko smiled faintly back, turning wistful once more as he looked to the window.

The two of them had gotten close after Zuko's coronation as Fire Lord. As soon as Katara and the others left the Fire Nation, he had felt so lonely. Ty-Lee made up for it, now that she had gotten some job in the palace. She was making up for her old ways when she had been working with Azula. Before Sokka left, Zuko had seen Ty-Lee crush the breath out of him in a hug, causing Kiara to giggle and Katara to smile uncontrollably the whole way back to Appa.

Zuko sighed. _'Katara. I'm coming to see you guys soon. I promise.'_

"Can't stay here long, I've got some stuff to do. Promise me you'll tell them I said hi!" After a nod from Zuko, Ty-Lee waved giddily and ran back out the bedroom door, the ever present smile stuck on her face.

A few minutes later, Iroh returned with a smile as well. "Ready to leave?"

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The trip to the South Pole would take three days on their fastest boat. The time flew by quickly as Zuko sat impatient in his room. Before he knew it, the boat had come to a stop. He was out on the front deck before anyone could alert him to their arrival. He was the first in the party to touch the icy, snowy, white ground.

The crunch of snow beneath his feet sounded glorious to his ears. The cold surrounding him felt wonderful and somehow peaceful. It felt like he was coming home.

"Zuko?"

Said person turned to face the speaker. "Sokka!" The two smiled at each other and shared a manly hug before Sokka sped off to find the others. Zuko followed slowly. Used to glares and narrowed eyes, the smiles and friendly faces he received from the other villagers came as a delightful surprise. He smiled back, unable to keep his happiness at being here subdued.

Toph was the next one he saw. Aang was attached to her by a hand, being pulled swiftly along until the Avatar caught a glimpse of whom it was she was rushing towards. Then he easily kept up with her. "Zuko! Hey! How are you doing? And what are you doing here?"

"Can't I come by for a visit? All right then. I'll just go…" He spoke sarcastically, turning to walk back to his ship.

He almost ran into Kiara, whom Sokka had finally found. The white haired girl tackled him to the ground in a bone-crushing hug, almost as bad as Ty-Lee's. "Oh! It's so good to see you again! It's been so long!" She yelled in glee. Sokka laughed in exasperation.

Zuko picked himself up, wanting to frown at Kiara, but finding himself unable to do so in the moment. He began to brush the snow off of himself, when he was interrupted by Sokka.

"I wouldn't bother doing that, you know. My sister is going to have her go at you just like Kiara did." He stated with a slight smile.

Zuko raised his eyebrows before huffing and letting out a small laugh at the thought. He couldn't wait. That was what he had come for, anyway.

Well. That and one other thing. Hopefully this time it would be more than just looking at the other girl. Maybe she had woken up by now.

The Fire Lord looked around at the other houses in the vicinity before he was dragged off by Toph and Kiara, leaving the other boys in the dust. "W-Where are we going?"

The two girls looked at him as if had just said the most stupid thing in the world. "To go get Katara of course. Seeing you is just about the only thing that will get her to stop working. Hopefully, anyway. She hasn't given herself a break in days! Only to eat or sleep. I feel like I haven't even _seen_ her in days!" Kiara answered.

"I haven't seen her at _all_!" Toph answered.

The three of them laughed. It felt good. Zuko felt as if he hadn't laughed like that in too long.

Toph and Kiara led him through a few more pathways until they came to a house just at the outskirts of the village. As they went inside, Zuko was instantly hit with the smell of food that made his mouth water greatly. "Mmm…" He mumbled, having not eaten for a few hours.

"Want some?" Katara smiled at him from the table across the room.

As he smiled big back at her, she jumped up and ran at him, practically jumping into his arms. Zuko wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back tightly, as if afraid to let go again. He had already lost enough.

Katara smiled largely as she pulled back. "Hello."

"Hello to you too." He responded.

He leaned in and kissed her, holding her gently. She kissed back, glad she was finally getting to see him again. The pair was not new to this, having done it the first time a while back, after the war had ended and Zuko's coronation.

Katara's decision to come home to the Water Tribe had been made long before she had even fallen for Zuko, and she knew she wouldn't have gone back on her word. There was too much waiting for her back here, and people she needed to see again. She had seen her father and grandmother at the Fire Nation after the war, but the quick meetings had not been nearly enough. They had not been enough for Sokka either, and the two of them didn't want to be separated. At least, not yet. Knowing Katara and Zuko, seeing each other again here would make it extremely hard for Zuko to leave again by himself, not knowing when he could return again.

Aang had also decided to come along. He had originally planned to return to the Earth Kingdom with Toph to see her parents again, but Toph herself had persisted that they go to the Water Tribe first. She had never been, and she wanted to see it first hand. They had been her ever since, neither of them willing to leave.

After all of them had come to the Water Tribe for a while, Kiara and Aang had gone to revisit the Southern Air Temple they had grown up in. There was not much to see or do for the others, so they had stayed behind. Not being rushed, the two Air benders had stayed for quite some time, easily enjoying the peace and quiet. Kiara especially. Deciding the take a detour, the two of them also visited the Northern Air Temple, Kiara finding many new friends among the townsfolk that stayed there. She had promised many of them that she would return soon.

Katara stepped out of Zuko's embrace and pulled him by his hand to a seat at the table. "Eat something. You look as though you haven't eaten in days."

"Only a few hours. But I am quite hungry."

"Food? I want some food! Katara! Feed your brother!" Sokka burst through the doorway and seated himself at the table next to Zuko.

"Do you have, like, a nose for these things?" Kiara asked him with a giggle, sitting beside him.

Katara laughed. "He's always hungry. It never fails." She brought over a large pot of stew and dished everyone up, sitting down herself across from her brother. Everyone started eating. Aang came in soon after and joined as well.

After they finished, they commenced into a long conversation, both about their lives at the Water Tribe so far and Zuko's life back at the Fire Nation. His part was short, saying only that he was very busy with work and such. He also mentioned his friendship with Ty-Lee.

"Ty-Lee?" Kiara asked. "How is she doing?"

"Oh she's pretty great, or so she's told me. I normally only see her when she pops by for a while. She's busy off doing whatever it is she does now. She says hello."

"I see."

There were a few moments of silence.

Aang broke it. "You know what we haven't done in a long time?"

"What?" Katara asked.

"Gone sledding." He looked at Katara with a smile. She gasped.

Everyone else stared in confusion. "What do you mean, sledding?" Kiara questioned.

Aang jumped up out of his seat and ran out the door. Katara followed close behind. "_**Penguin sledding**_!" The both of them yelled in unison.

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Cold to the bone and snow covered, the group returned back to the warmth of the fire inside the house. Everyone shivered uncontrollably from the weather outside the doors.

The penguins had not taken kindly to any of them until Katara and Aang had brought out the fish. When that happened, they were all pushed to the ground and tackled for the food they held, Katara and Aang laughing at everyone else's faces.

The results were good for everyone, though. The sledding had been a good activity for the lot of them, putting smiles on all of their faces and adrenaline through their veins. Toph had been hesitant at first, but after some gentle persuasion from Aang and the others, she relented. She ended up returning to the top of the hill and going again and again, almost more than the others did.

As soon as Zuko thought he may have begun to doze off, with Katara's head nestled on his shoulder, there came another knock on the door. Zuko calmly stood and walked to open the door. A quick glance to everyone else confirmed that they were all sound asleep themselves from a day of fun.

When he opened the door, he came face to face with someone quite old. He recognized her immediately as Katara and Sokka's grandmother. He had seen her a few times before. Mainly because she was the one who had helped heal the groups as they returned from their separate fights. He and his group in particular. Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Kiara hadn't needed much. Neither did Katara. But the rest was a tough job.

She spoke softly and quietly as if she knew the others were sleeping. "Come with me. There is someone I would very much like you to see."

Zuko's eyes widened. "Is she..?"

"Shhh! Aren't they sleeping in there?"

He looked sheepish for a moment. "Sorry." Zuko followed Gran-Gran as she moved through the village in the night. It was harder for him to see, which the old woman knew, so she stayed close and spoke a little louder so he could follow her voice as well.

"She has been awake for quite some time now. You would have seen her earlier had she not been helping me with a few chores today. She is still healing, but she will recover completely in time." The woman paused in front of a smaller house than the one Zuko had previously been in. She turned to face him. "When she woke up, it took her a few days to come to completely. She didn't remember a thing in the beginning, and even yet there are still some things she constantly forgets, or has not yet remembered." She took a deep breath and looked Zuko in the eye. "There is a possibility that she will not remember you." And with that, she walked through the door.

Zuko, quite surprised at the blunt information, and very hesitant, stepped through into the room. The first sight he saw in front of him was the back of her head, her black hair flowing long and shiny down her back. She was standing at a table on the side of the room, drying some dishes that had most likely been used for dinner earlier that evening. Her hands were bandaged, as well as one of her feet. She had a large bandage on one cheek, and she was clothed in a long, dark blue dress that came to rest at her shins, revealing that the bandage on her foot actually went up to what looked like her knee, perhaps farther. Zuko stood frozen behind her, afraid to speak.

It seemed that he didn't need to after all, for as soon as the door shut behind him she turned to look at him, mismatched eyes staring intently into his. One blue like Katara's, one amber just like his. He sucked in a deep breath.

"R-Raven?" He cast a glance over to Gran-Gran, who nodded. He looked back to Raven's eyes. "Do you know who I am?"

Some significant time passed by, Zuko loosing a fraction of his hope with each passing second. It seemed like forever.

Then, finally, Raven spoke.

"I'm sorry… but no…" She looked to Gran-Gran. "Should I?" Gran-Gran nodded.

Zuko heart broke in half. His shoulders slumped and he barely made it to a chair before his knees collapsed from underneath him. He closed his eyes.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Without even looking up, he knew it was Raven.

"Gran-Gran told me what happened to me. It seems I don't remember anything associated with that night."

"She didn't remember Katara, Azula, you, or whatever happened that night." Gran-Gran assisted in the explanation.

"I remember getting off of Appa… and then nothing. I remember Aang and Sokka and Kiara and Toph… and everything that happened before that. In my memories, there is a presence there that I can't make out, but I know it's someone. My memories with those people are blurry and I can't see them at all sometimes." Raven paused and squeezed his shoulder lightly, as if to steady herself. "I get flashes sometimes though. A few days ago, I remembered Katara."

Zuko looked up in astonishment.

"I don't know what caused it, but all of a sudden, I looked at her and it just hit me… so if I stick around you long enough, than maybe it will happen with you too!" She smiled as she looked down at him.

He looked up and met her gaze. "Yeah. Let's hope." He stood up to leave. "I think maybe I should be getting back to the others. I'll stop by tomorrow first thing, alright?"

Gran-Gran and Raven both smiled sadly as he made his way out.

**X-X-x-x-X-x-X-x-XX-xXx-XXX-xXx-XX-x-X-x-X-x-x-X-X**

"I'm going to miss you too much."

Zuko had been staying for two weeks already. He was set to go back to the Fire Nation later that day. He hadn't wanted to leave, but his duties as Fire Lord had to be taken care of at the palace, and sooner rather than later.

Every day for the duration of his stay, he had spent as much time with Raven as he possibly could. She had stuck by his side, and him by hers for hours upon hours. Zuko had told her stories about their childhood together, and Raven had listened as intently as possible, but at the end of the day, she couldn't solidly remember any of them. Zuko, to her, was still a stranger.

She always apologized profusely for her forgetfulness. Zuko always told her not to. It hadn't been her fault, he'd said, and he was happy that she was at least there and alive. Having her here was better than not having her at all.

Raven never believed him.

Now that this day had rolled around and Zuko was planning on leaving, the both of them had given up. The night before, Raven had said goodbye, so that she wouldn't need to see him off. She said that it would be harder for her to see him sail away without remembering anything yet. He agreed, saying it would be harder for him to leave seeing her standing on the shore.

Zuko's goodbyes to Katara were long-winded, but each promised to visit soon.

Zuko walked onto the ramp that led up to his ship.

"_Hold it right there_!"

Zuko froze. _What the...?_ He turned around only to get tackled to the ground in a fierce hug.

"ZUKO! Oh my God _Zuko_! I know you! I _know you_!" Raven was ecstatic. She had the largest smile on her face that Zuko and the others had ever seen. She let go of Zuko and began dancing around, hugging everyone she came to. When she got back around to Zuko, she slung an arm around his shoulder and yelled, "We're _inseparable_! Woo-Hoo! How the _heck_ could I have _**ever**_ forgotten _**you**_?" She turned and hugged him tightly.

He wrapped his arms around her as well and pulled her even closer. "You remember? Thank God. I thought I'd lost you for good."

"Oh, you'll never get rid of me! I'm coming back to the Fire Nation with you, right? This cold is unbearable." She cast a glance around to the rest of them and her gaze landed on Katara, who had a slight glint to her eyes that Raven caught. "OOOoooo someone's jealous!" She giggled.

Katara couldn't help the small smile that made its way onto her face. Zuko extended her arms to her, and she walked into them, Raven still hugging him as well.

"Group _hug!_" Kiara yelled and dragged Sokka with her over to the others, slinging their arms around the three. Aang and Toph joined in on the outside.

"I love you guys.."

"Yeah, yeah. We love you too Aang." Sokka responded with a laugh.

_-Sokka was the one who started laughing first. Then Raven, from the absurdity of it all, then Zuko. Seeing Zuko laugh made Katara smile. And Aang and Toph joined in sooner or later. _

_The laughter was a good end to the night. A good end to the story. It washed away the doubt, the sadness, and the pain. If only for a little while. _

_That day was the one every member of that circle never forgot. It was the moment that they all shared the same feeling. Together-_

**X-X-x-x-X-x-X-x-XX-xXx-XXX-xXx-XX-x-X-x-X-x-x-X-X**

**A/N: It was the last, ending part that I was debating on adding. I didn't know whether or not to make it happy :) I just didn't have the time to think out another, sad ending that was half-way decent. So this is the result.**

**It's over. Woot Woot. ^^**

**Review? XD**


	25. Sequel & Rewrite

Hey there!

Author here! :D

It's been one and a half years about since I started this story, and a half a year since I've finished. Time flies! I am so excited for the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie being released this coming Friday! I've been watching a few of my favorite episodes lately (which primarily consist of the last season after Zuko joins the group) to get in the spirit of the new movie, and I was hit with some inspiration…

Sooo...That means I've started making plans for a _sequel_ to this story: "Lost, But Never Forgotten". I know a few (one or two) of you kind, kind reviewers had asked me for another chapter or so, and since some of you might still have this story on your alert list, I thought I'd give you a heads-up.

The story will be called something along the lines of "Stolen Memories" and the first chapter should be up by the end of next week! I'm in summer break right now so this story should be written quicker than "Lost, But Never Forgotten" was.

…hopefully. -_-

I'm _very_ excited to get a start on it, and I have a few really good ideas that I'm sure will make this story shine over L.B.N.F. Maybe I'll get a few readers out of you guys? :O I sure hope so!

I will also be going over LBNF during the next week or two and rewriting some of the sketchier parts, fixing some grammar and spelling mistakes, and making the storyline flow a bit easier. There will be nothing plot-oriented _added_ to it, though, so a reread is not necessary ^^I am just going to make the first few chapters a little longer, maybe giving more detail, so by all means: if you _want_ to reread it as I go along, go right ahead :D

Thanks! Hope to see some of you readers soon!


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